Beyond the Looking Glass
by Mat49324
Summary: This is another collaboration with S.P.D. Gold Ranger. See inside for summary.
1. Collision Course

(Summary, written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

People may be able to hide things from others... but not for very long.

After a peaceful swim, Nick is surprised to hear that one of his other childhood friends, Bridget Taylor, is returning to Beverly Hills. He's very excited about meeting her again, but after said meeting, things quickly turn sour...

Soon enough, Alex is kidnapped by Tim Scam, the villain forces the Spies to trade one of their own for Alex. When they do get her back, she seems way out of it. This is more than just a simple brainwashing case. There are higher powers and various villains involved in all of this. In the process, Nick learns more about his crush than he ever thought he'd find out.

One can only find out so much by gazing "Beyond the Looking Glass"...

(From **Mat49324**)

(Here's the 1st chapter of our 2nd joint story. This is another collaboration with **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**.)

(Quick note to Nick: Have you thought of the title yet? Whatever you want, we'll go with that. And have you posted the 6th chapter for "Music Monster Much" yet?)

(From **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(To Mat: I'm working on restoring the final chapter of "Music Monster Much?" as I type this, so don't worry. I'm working on the part right after the spies went to the movies. I was at least able to get _that_ to a floppy before my OS crashed.)

(For you readers, this is my second collaboration with **Mat49324**, called "Beyond the Looking Glass". For those wondering, I'll give more details about Bridget Taylor, Nick's other childhood friend that I mentioned in the above summary, at the end of this chapter. And yes, she's a WOOHP spy, too, just so you know All right, here we go!)

Log 1: Collision Course

(Written by **Mat49324**)

**August 28th, 2005 -- 1:27 p.m. -- Spies' Villa**

It was a beautiful day to be outside at the pool, which is where we were. Sam was wearing her one piece green bathing suit with her sides showing and she was taking a swim in the pool. I was wearing my black and blue swimshorts and I was swimming in the pool with Sam. Nick, who was wearing his brown swimshorts, was also swimming in the pool with us. And so was Haruka, who was wearing her one-piece azure bathing suit that was similar to Sam's bathing suit; Clover, who was wearing her two-piece blue bathing suit, and Alex, who was wearing her two-piece pink bathing suit with starfishes all around it, and a pink towel wrapped around her waist, were both sunbathing on the most perfect day.

"Man, this is so much fun, I wish we could do this every day in a year," Haruka said.

"You said it, Haruka," I said to her.

"Why is it that only this kind of weather is most common around the summertime?" Sam asked.

"I know, Sammy," Clover said.

"This kind of weather should be around 24/7, 365 or 366 a year!"

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Nick's P.O.V.)

Man, Mat was right. This was the _perfect_ day to go swimming. If only the weather was like this all year...

A couple hours later, after we had finished swimming, playing water sports, and watching Haruka try to dunk Mat, I went to my room to dry off and change into my clothes. As I slipped on my silver shoes, I heard my cell phone ringing, playing a familiar ring tone I'd just downloaded from my X-Powder. I went to pick it up, and the caller ID read this:

**Taylor, Maria**

**295-2788**

"Taylor"... a name I hadn't heard in a while.

It couldn't be...

...could it?

I pressed the "on" button, and said, "Hello?"

A soft, melodic voice came from the other end, one I hadn't heard in years.

"Nick? Is that you?"

"Bridget?" I said, not being able to believe my ears: Bridget Taylor, my 2nd childhood friend, was talking to me right now!

"Bridget! Oh, wow! How long has it been since I've heard from you?"

"I'd say about 2 or 3 years," she replied. For those wondering, Bridget had moved out a couple months after I'd moved to Beverly Hills in 2002. I'd met her at a track meet when she'd gotten lost in the rush of the crowds of Beverly Hills Junior High. I took an immediate liking to her, and we'd been friends since then. A few months after we'd met, however, her family had to move away to sort out a problem with a cousin who lived far away. I thought I'd never see her again after that. It lifted my spirits just hearing her voice again.

"How'd you get back to Beverly Hills, Bridget?"

"Mom and Dad sorted out our family crisis with Jeremy. We've already settled back into Beverly Hills!"

"That's great, Bridget! Is there any way I could see you in the next few days?"

"Actually, there is. I'm stopping by Beverly Hills High in about a half-hour so I can register there. How about you meet me there?"

"Great! I'll see you there, then!" I said. With that, we said our good-byes and closed the link. I went to my desk drawer and took out my purple pen and a piece of paper and started writing a note so Haruka would know where I was if she found me gone. With that, I stuck the note to the door and walked out of the villa, heading for Bev High.

(End Nick's P.O.V.)

Sam, Clover, and Haruka, all fully dressed, came into the living room about 15 minutes later, where Mathew was seated on the couch, watching TV. "Hey, Mathew," Sam said, sitting down by her boyfriend. Haruka began looking around - apparently, Alex was missing from the group. "Hey, has anyone seen Alex?" Haruka asked.

At that precise moment, a loud scream was heard from upstairs. All 4 spies raced upstairs only to find Alex's bedroom door ajar, and said room completely trashed!

"What? Alex!" all 4 spies yelled. Just then, the air duct above them opened, pulling everyone into it.

"I'm gonna guess that this has something to do with Alex's disappearance!" Haruka shouted as the spies landed inside a WOOHP office. It was just then that Haruka noticed that Nick hadn't come with them.

"Hey, why wasn't Nick WOOHPed with us?" Haruka asked aloud. Jerry spoke up.

"We figured it may be best to keep him out of this until he's needed for this particular mission."

**4:29 PM, Beverly Hills High School**

Nick finally arrived at Beverly Hills High School, looking left and right for Bridget. He sighed and pulled out a photo of her he'd kept since the day she'd left. The picture showed a girl with shoulder-length, spiked green hair, wearing glasses, and dressed in her lettuce green track uniform.

"So, you kept the picture, huh?" Bridget's voice rang out. Nick lowered the picture to see the girl he'd been waiting for, 15-year-old Bridget Taylor, dressed in a bright blue school uniform.

"I couldn't let go, apparently," Nick said as Bridget came up and embraced him.

"It's so good to see you again, you know that?" she said to him.

"Same here, Bridget," Nick replied.

"Say, Nick? Is there anything I should know about this school, since it's my first year?" she asked her friend.

"Definitely. For one, if you see a girl with long purple hair flanked by two mean-looking girls, stay away. They can get real annoying, real fast," Nick said, referring to Mandy and her two lackeys.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Bridget giggled.

All of a sudden, the two heard a beep.

"Don't tell me..." they both said in unison. The next second, they were both falling through the floor.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

Nick and Bridget landed right next to us in WOOHP. You can tell Haruka was pretty steamed about it.

"Nick, just where were you, and who is this girl you're with? Have you dumped Alex?" Haruka asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Okay, Haruka, first of all: no, I haven't dumped Alex; I left a note for you on the door for you to know where I was when you knew I was gone. This is my 2nd childhood friend, Bridget Taylor; And, no I haven't dumped Alex at all; What kind of a stupid question is that, Haruka?"

"Wait, wait, wait a minute. I remember you!! You were Nick's old friend on the track team!!" Haruka said to Bridget.

"What are you doing here, Bridget?"

"I had a family crisis with my cousin, Jeremy, but we got that all sorted out, so I came here," Bridget responded.

"Allow me to introduce you to everyone," Nick said to Bridget, pointing around to show who was who.

"That's Clover, the blonde haired girl, Sam, the red-hair, her boyfriend, Mathew, and -- huh?" Nick stopped when he noticed Alex was missing.

"Where's Alex, guys?" Nick whispered to us when he got to us.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"We believe she'd been kidnapped by our arch-nemesis, Tim Scam, and is being held in his base somewhere in South America," Jerry stated, stepping in.

"It figures," Nick said. "That guy doesn't know when to quit, does he?"

"Do you have any idea why he wants Alex?" Bridget asked.

"That's what we want you to find out," Jerry said, as a table full of gadgets popped out.

"For this mission, we have laser lipstick, the sonic disentegrator boom box, Wind Tunnel 9000 Laser Tornado Hair Dryers, padded shoulder parasails, and a new gadget fresh from R and D," Jerry said, explaining our gadgets until we came across a gadget that actually _looked_ like a gadget.

GLADIS popped out and explained this new gadget to us. "This is the S.S.E.A.T. - **S**ecurity **S**ystem **E**lectronic **A**mplification **T**racker. By pressing the red button, the device sends out a strong, but invisible EMP pulse that can disable any security system within 10 miles."

"Cool!" Clover said.

"I have a feeling we'll be needing that one. If I know Tim, his hideout is gonna be jam-packed with security," Nick said, taking out his X-Powder and changing into his spy suit. Everyone who could followed suit, including Bridget, whose spy suit was a green color, like Sam's, but much brighter.

"Okay, if we're all equipped, let's do this!" Nick said, and with that, all 6 spies fell through the floor and landed in the Skyskimmer. After a few launch procedures, they were off.

A few minutes later, Haruka looked over to Nick. "Hey, Nick? Sorry if I misjudged Bridget before. I should have realized you'd never cheat on Alex."

"It's okay, Haruka. I understand. I went to Beverly Hills High to welcome her back, and then we got WOOHPed. Stuff like that always happens out of nowhere," Nick replied.

About an hour later, everyone had landed in southern South America.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

(From **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Okay, that's that! Next time:

Log 2: Artistic Attack

The spies, including new team member Bridget, move in on Tim Scam's fortress, ready to lay the smackdown on the WOOHP rebel. However, the villain wants to trade one of the Spies for Alex. What to do?

Ja ne everybody!

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	2. Artistic Attack

(This is chapter 2! Thanks to **SonicLover **and **The Time Traveler** for reviewing! Here's my replies:)

**SonicLover:** Thanks! It's pretty good considering it's only my second joint story.

**The Time Traveler**: Me, too. I'm having fun with this.

(Okay, here's the chapter. Review when you're done!)

Log 2: Artistic Attack

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

As we closed in on Tim's fortress, Nick was telling me of some of the spies' past missions and how many times they've beaten Tim Scam. I was really surprised to hear about the time travel case. (Author's Note: That is a reference to my Totally Spies stories "It Helps to Cry" and "The Next Best Thing".) This sounded serious if that rebel wanted Nick's girlfriend for some reason.

_What exactly did he want with her?_ I wondered.

Soon enough, we landed near Tim Scam's fortress. After exiting the Skyskimmer, we all split up and took different entrances to the fortress. Nick decided to blast his way in with the sonic disentegrator boom box. I could almost swear I recognized that tune.

As we ran through the hallway towards the control center, Nick looked over me and said, "Bridget, I've been wondering... when exactly did you become a spy for WOOHP?"

I remembered joining WOOHP a few days after I'd sorted out my family crisis. Jerry was quite surprised by my skills and decided to sign me up. I'd also gotten a good reason to hone my martial arts skills with the spy career. I hadn't had much chance to practice since I moved away from Beverly Hills to help Jeremy.

Suddenly, I heard shouting nearby that sounded a lot like fighting. We must have been close to the control center!

Inside the control center, Mathew, Sam, Haruka, and Clover were fighting Tim Scam, but getting beaten pretty quickly. As Haruka launched a windmill kick, Tim simply grabbed her flying foot and threw her into Mathew. Sam jumped over Clover's shoulders and caught Tim by surprise with a sweep kick that knocked the WOOHP rebel to the ground. However, Tim was back up the next second and had knocked Sam to the ground.

"Where are Nick and Bridget? We're getting whooped here!" Haruka shouted.

Nick turned on his laser lipstick and slashed at the door a few times, causing it to fall to the ground in 4 neatly-cut pieces. That said, I raised my Wind Tunnel 9000 and fired, creating a powerful gust forward that struck Tim and sent him flying across the room. Now, _this_ was the kind of rush I've been waiting for!

"Have no fear!" I shouted.

"The cavalry has arrived!" Nick finished up for me as we raced over to the others. As they stood up, brandishing their Wind Tunnels, Nick turned his attention to the rebel agent.

"Tim, I need to know: we've defeated you about 7 times so far. Are you fluent in getting your butt kicked?" Nick said with a tinge of sarcasm. I had to fight down a giggle; that's one of the things I liked about Nick - he can really crack a joke when he needs to.

"Now where's Alex?" Nick shouted, turning serious as he aimed his Wind Tunnel at Tim.

"The only way I'll give Alex back is if I get one of you in exchange," Tim said, a sneer crossing his face.

This threw me for a loop; what was he getting at, anyway?

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

(Quick note to **The Time Traveler**: Since you like my stories so much as well as this one I'm doing with **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**, how would you like to do a joint story with me after we're complete with this one?)

"What do you mean, trade one of us for Alex?" I said in disgrace.

"What I mean by 'get one of you in exchange' is a simple trade for one of you 6 spies, for Alex. One simple trade, Alex is free; If no trade, Alex stays here with me for eternity," Scam explained.

"Why couldn't you say 'gadgets' instead of 'one of' us, because it would be way less lethal than this?" Clover asked in disgust.

"CLOVERRRR!" everyone but Bridget said to her.

"Trading Alex for all gadgets from the 6 of you will only fufill one-fourth of my plan," Scam evilly explained.

"One-fourth? _What do you mean, one-fourth?_" Sam shouted.

"I plan to use the one you traded for Alex to make a time bomb, that will explode and bring down W.O.O.H.P., you 6, and the entire city of Beverly Hills; malls, beaches, gyms, everything," Scam explained.

"Now, if you don't even mind, I'll trade you Alex for your smart-alec, Sam." He offered.

"No way, Scam!" I snapped, clutching Sam.

"You're so not getting my sweetheart! She means everything to me!"

"Well, now that's a surprise," Scam said, not looking too surprised.

"Just to save my patience, I'm giving you 48 hours starting now, to decide whom you want to trade for Alex. Meanwhile, I'm going to tend to Alex until you 6 have made your decision."

With that said, Tim Scam walked away and went back to Alex. The girls gasped.

**9:23 a.m. -- Spies' Villa (1 day later)**

Back at the villa after calling the mission short, we still thought of what to do.

"What do we do, guys? And who can we trade?" Haruka asked, horrified.

"Well, we can't trade him for Bridget, because she's a new recruit; We can't trade myself because I'm like a 'backup Sam'; And we can't trade Sam because that would leave Mathew heartbroken and girlfriendless; It's between Nick, Clover, and Mathew," Haruka said, analyzing the situation.

"Either way, Scam benefits from the trade," I said, discouraged and clenching my fist.

"Unless we trade him... for Clover," Sam said.

"WHAAATTT? Sam, you are soooo not trading me for Alex!" Clover screamed.

"I think YOU should get traded for Alex, not me!"

"What! Didn't you hear Mathew? If I got traded, Nick and Alex would be reunited, but Mathew would be heartbroken without me!" Sam snapped back at Clover.

Clover and her started to lean their faces into each other's. Bridget tried to break up the possible fight between the girls.

"Sam, Clover, cool off, you two. Chill out in the pool. We don't want a fight against two best friends. There has to be something we can do to turn this no-win situation into a win-win situation!" Bridget said.

"Bridget's right, girls. Set aside your differences and think about the mission!" I said.

"I'll do it," Nick finally spoke up.

"_Whaaatttt?_" we all said.

"Dude, just because Scam wants to trade Alex for one of us, doesn't mean that you have to just SAY you're gonna be traded. Alex would be heartbroken if she lost you," I pointed out.

"Mathew's right, Nick. This isn't like you. There's gotta be another way! But the question is, what?" Haruka said.

"No, Haruka. This might be the only way to stop Scam's plan for the time bomb to be created, save my girlfriend, and save good old Beverly Hills; And besides, I love Alex, and Mathew loves Sam," Nick said.

"Alright, if you say so, but I'm gonna miss you and so is Haruka," Bridget said, agreeing with Nick.

"Or, we can save Nick's sadness and trade him for Mathew," Clover pointed out.

"Clover! _What are you, stupid?_" I shouted, jamming my hand into the top of her head with her face going into the couch. Haruka, Bridget, Nick, and even Sam were shocked.

"Normally, I respect girls, but one who wants to trade me for a fellow best friend? I don't think so!" I said to them.

"Mathew's right, Clover," Sam said, supporting me.

"We can't trade Mathew because then _I'd_ be heartbroken."

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Nick's P.O.V.)

My head was slightly spinning. It seemed that we couldn't trade anyone. Either way, Scam would be able to complete his time bomb and destroy Beverly Hills. Unless...

I thought for a moment... in my time travel case, I'd learned the layout of Scam's fortress inside and out.

In other words, I know Scam's fortress like the back of my hand: escape routes, secret passages, everything.

I had a plan. This would take a lot of courage.

"I'll go, spies. I have a plan that may get us out unscathed. I just need you guys to believe in me. You all believed in me when Scam struck down my family, right?"

Everyone looked at each other for a bit, as if contemplating my request. "Okay. Just don't get killed, all right?" Sam said. They all seemed to have confidence in me.

"I'll be back, with Alex."

I looked over to Bridget; she had tears in her eyes. She rushed up and hugged me. "Please come back, okay?"

"I promise, Bridget," I said, rubbing her back and comforting her.

**Later, at Tim Scam's fortress...**

I walked up to Scam at the control center of his fortress. "Well?" the WOOHP rebel asked.

"I'll trade myself for Alex. But, before I subject myself to any of your crazy experiments, _I want to see my girlfriend_," I said, emphasizing heavily on those last words.

"Very well, then," Tim said, pressing a button. "I'll leave you two alone for a bit. I need to go check on my blueprints for the time bomb," he said, walking coolly out of the room just as Alex came through the doors right behind me. I rushed up and hugged her. "Alex! You're all right!"

"Nick, I'm happy to see you, and all that yada yada, but we need to get out of here!" Alex said.

"I'm afraid that will be quite impossible," Scam said, walking up to us with a sneer on his face.

"I made a promise to my friends that I'd return with Alex, and I'm not gonna break it!" I said, shifting into fighting stance just as lightning bolts shot across the exit path behind us. I charged forward and launched into a flying kick which Scam easily dodged. I skidded to a stop just in time to see Scam running towards Alex. I knew what he was trying to do: he was trying to kill Alex by pushing her into the electricity!

"No! You're not hurting Alex!" I screamed, glowing red with psychic power. I thrust my hand forward and grabbed Scam in my telekinetic grip. I raised my hand, lifting Scam into the air. Finally, I thrust my hand forward again, throwing Scam into his own electric field. I had to look away as the shock coursed through Tim's body. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

I pulled out the S.S.E.A.T. and pushed the red button. Almost instantaneously, the electric field shut off. I took Alex's hand and led her out of the fortress.

I didn't notice the weird object hanging on Alex's back...

(Author's Note: In case you're wondering, read my story "It Helps to Cry" to learn how Nick got his psychic powers.)

(End Nick's P.O.V.)

Back at the villa, Haruka and Bridget were pacing side-by-side in worry, when all of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. Bridget, in hoping, went up to answer it. She smiled brightly when she saw Nick and Alex standing in the doorway.

"Hey," Alex said, waving.

"Miss us?" Nick said, smiling.

"Nick! You're all right!" Bridget exclaimed, running up and embracing Nick.

"I was so worried about you!"

"Hey, Bridget. I told you I'd return with Alex. Remember, I _never_ back out of a promise," Nick said to her. Bridget smiled with relief.

**Later...**

Alex was sitting by the window, talking into a strange communicator. "Master Scam. I have their location."

"Excellent," a voice from the other end of the communicator responded. "Await further instructions."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

And that's chapter 2!

Next time:

Log 3: Timeless Treachery

When Alex begins acting weird, the spies begin to notice something's up. Is there more to this than meets the eye?

Over and out,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	3. Timeless Treachery

(From **Mat49324**)

(Here's chapter 3. Thanks to **SonicLover**, and **The Time Traveler** for reviewing. Now for replies.)

**SonicLover**: Thanks. Why couldn't your joint story with me go smoothly? Because you never thought of something like this. But that's okay. Because I hope to do another one with you soon.

**The Time Traveler**: I'm sorry to hear that. At least it's understandable since you're in college so much. What year are you and what year are you graduating? What are you majoring in? Which college are you currently attending? It's okay that I don't do a joint story with you. It would've been pretty fun if you said yes. Well, hopefully when you get out of college, you can get maybe rethink that offer. It's never too late to do anything when it comes to something that I make an offer with.

(From **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Just so you know, we may be a little late with this chapter because of school starting up again. Just so you know.)

Copyright 2005

Log 3: Timeless Treachery

(Written by **Mat49324**)

**3:28 p.m. -- Spies' Villa**

"Now, take care of Bridget," Scam's voice said to the imposter Alex.

Bridget was downstairs making sandwiches for Nick, Sam, Clover, and Haruka. I however, didn't feel like eating. Alex came downstairs getting her fists ready to knock out Bridget.

"Hey, Alex. Bridget's making sandwiches. Want one?" Sam asked.

"No thanks," Alex said.

She continued to make her way towards the kitchen to hit Bridget on her head and knock her out. In the kitchen, Bridget was putting the finishing touches on the girls' and Nick's sandwiches. Alex lowered her fists at that moment, but luckily for Bridget, she was able to get out of there unhurt because Bridget moved just fast enough for Alex to miss her, but it was very close. Bridget returned to the living room holding the girls' sandwiches, Nick's sandwich, and her own sandwich.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Nick looked up just in time to see Bridget enter the room with the group's sandwiches. As they all sat together and ate, they barely noticed Alex creeping up behind them.

Just as Nick took a bite of his sandwich, Alex decided to strike her former boyfriend and swung her foot in a circular motion, relying on her Tai-Kwon-Do training. Nick instantly sensed incoming danger and jumped off the couch, spinning into a roll just in time to avoid getting thwacked.

Upon standing straight up, Nick turned his attention to Alex. "Alex! What's the big idea?"

"You actually thought I loved you? Get real!" she said, shifting into a fighting stance. "My loyalty is with Tim Scam, and my goal is to crush you and your friends!"

"Alex! Do you have any idea what you're saying? This is your boyfriend you're talking about here!" Mathew exclaimed.

"That's not my girlfriend, Mat!" Nick exclaimed. "Someone's messed with her mind, and I don't need three guesses to figure out who's behind it!" He backed up a bit, letting the others clear the way so he could perform his special technique. He charged forward in a mad dash, and when he was halfway towards Alex, he tumbled into a roll attack he called the Spin Dash (no relation to Sonic's move of the same name) and slammed into Alex, sending her flying out the back door, just inches from falling in the pool.

"Nick! What are you doing?" Bridget exclaimed.

"You know I love her, Bridget, and I swore I'd protect her any way I could!" Nick said to Bridget. "If I have to fight her to protect her, then so be it!" With that, Nick ran out the open door and faced Alex.

"You'd actually fight your own girlfriend?" Alex said with a sneer.

"Try me," Nick simply replied before charging for Alex.

Bridget was the first one outside, followed by Mat, Sam, Clover, and Haruka. They all saw Nick and Alex trading blow for blow at nearly supersonic speeds.

Bridget stood and thought. _Alex is noticeably stronger. If she takes Nick out, I'm gonna lose another loved one. And after what happened with my aunt, I don't want to lose anyone else I love!_

Bridget charged forward. "Bridget? Where are you going?" Haruka shouted.

Bridget stopped and turned around. "I'm going to help Nick."

(From **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

Bridget ran out next to Nick.

"Need a little help?" she asked.

"Sure, I could use it," Nick responded.

"I wanna help, too," Haruka added, running to Nick and Bridget.

With a 3-on-1 match, the 4 of them were ready to battle, but just as soon as they were getting ready to rumble, Alex heard a voice from her commander.

"Alex, forget them. Return to base," Scam said over the voicebox.

"But--" Alex was about to say, but Scam cut her off.

"Never mind them. I need to tell you something important."

Alex had no choice, so she retreated.

"Okay, what just happened?" I asked.

"I don't know, Mathew," Bridget responded.

"What was that all about?" Haruka asked.

"Who knows, Haruka?" Clover responded.

"We might've won the battle, but this war is far from over," Nick said to us. Theoretically, he was right.

"So, what do you propose we do now, guys?" Haruka asked.

"Uh, I was kinda hoping you or Nick or Sammy here had some sort of idea," I said nervously.

"I don't have a single thought," Sam replied.

"What we do know is that crafty Scam double-crossed us, and got away with it, but it's not over yet," I said.

"Mathew's right, guys. It's definitely not over yet," Sam said to us.

"Do you guys think there's a way that WE can double-cross Scam? Or is there something else that we gotta do to get Nick's lover back?" I said.

"Mathew, that's a great idea," Sam replied happily.

"Now, the only question is, how do we do that?"

We all thought of what to do. It was pretty hot outside, so, the 6 of us decided to relax in the jacuzzi while we thought of what to do. All of us were wearing the same swimwear, while Bridget was decked out in a 1-piece dark green bathing suit. It was almost like Sam's bathing suit, only the sides weren't showing, and all of Sam's swimsuits had her sides showing, except her two-piece ones.

"You guys think that imposter Alex was a little strange to you?" I asked the others.

"Other than the imposter being a follower of Tim Scam, not really," Clover answered.

"No, not that, Clover," I said.

"Don't you think that Tim Scam might be in cahoots with Macker the Safecracker? You know, when he made those clones of the girls robbing banks in every single country?"

"You know what? I think Mathew's got a pretty logical point," Sam said pointing her finger at me.

"Absolutely. Besides, it might be possible that he's behind it too, and not just Tim Scam," Haruka said, agreeing with what I said.

Bridget didn't know him, but now knew what he wanted with the girls.

"There's something I don't understand," Bridget spoke up.

"What's that, Bridget?" Sam asked.

"What would Macker want from the 6 of us?" Bridget explained.

"Bridget's got a pretty good point there; So I guess that wrecks my theory," I said.

"No, Mathew. You might be right," Nick said to us.

"He might not want anything from me, Haruka, Bridget or, you, but he might want more revenge on Sam, Clover, and Alex."

"I seriously think that's a possibility," I remarked.

"Anyone have any other ideas on how we can get Alex back?" Haruka asked all of us.

"I'd say we follow the Alex imposter and find out what she's up to, and what she wants with us, and especially with Nick here, then get the REAL Alex back," Sam suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Haruka said.

"Now, let's get out of our bathing suits and into our spy suits and get going, everybody!"

We all climbed out of the jacuzzi one at a time, then rushed back into the villa. The girls and Nick used their X-powders to switch outfits, and I used my GBA-SP to switch from my shorts to my Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki T-shirt with Grant Langston's last name on the back and underneath it was an 8.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Nick's P.O.V.)

As we turned up the next street, I saw what I thought was Alex running down the street. From her stance, I could tell it was the imposter that Macker had created. I looked over Bridget's shoulder and saw that "Alex" was talking to someone via a communicator watch. I opened my X-Powder and began trying to overview the conversation.

"How is the mission going so far?" Alex said into the communicator.

"Everything's going according to Macker's plan. The clones are set up around the world," another voice replied, one that sounded just like me!

"Good," Alex continued. "Contact me when Phase 2 is ready."

And just like that, the transmission was cut.

"Did Macker make clones of us, too?" Bridget asked.

"But how could he? He doesn't have anything from our bodies, does he?" Mathew asked in confusion.

I suddenly caught something out of the corner of my eye. A clone of Bridget was standing near Beverly Hills High School.

"Apparently, he did," I said. "We need to find out what he's planning."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

And that's the 3rd part finished! This is starting to pick up.

Next time:

Log 4: Topsy Turvy

The spies encounter their clones after a trip to Macker's HQ. Who will win?

Until next,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	4. Topsy Turvy

(From **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Welcome to chapter 4! Sorry if we haven't updated in a while. We've had school and stuff to deal with. Enjoy, everybody!)

Log 4: Topsy Turvy

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Nick's P.O.V.)

I watched Bridget's clone as she slinked around the bushes near Beverly Hills High.

"I've got an idea!" I said. "If we capture that clone, she should be able to tell us where Macker's hideout is!"

"Good idea!" Sam exclaimed. "But how do we do that?"

"Just stand back and leave it to me, girls and boys," Bridget said, slinking up to her clone with a natural grace. I watched, quite impressed.

The clone Bridget looked up as the real Bridget walked up. "So, Clone X-2," the clone said in Bridget's authentic voice. "How is the mission going?"

"Perfectly," Bridget herself said, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke. "We are in position." She looked over her clone's shoulder, pointing to a non-existent speck in the distance. That was my cue, so I broke into a run.

"Hey, what's that?" Bridget exclaimed. Her clone turned around and looked to where Bridget was pointing. "What's what now?"

With that, I put on an extra burst of speed, leapt over the real Bridget's shoulders (she giggled a bit when I did that) and knocked her clone to the ground with a spectacular flying kick. With spectacular agility, I quickly reached into my backpack, whipped out my Wind Tunnel 9000, and aimed it straight for the clone.

"Playtime's over! Now talk!" I exclaimed.

"What? What do you want from me?" the clone exclaimed.

"All I want to know is where Macker's hideout is!" I said, powering up my Wind Tunnel to show I meant business.

"You really think I'd tell you?" Bridget's clone answered, pushing me off and backflipping onto her feet. I simply fired my Wind Tunnel, knocking Bridget's clone to the ground again.

"Tell me where Macker's hideout is before I get serious!" I shouted, my body glowing a bright yellow with psychic energies. That did it.

"All right! All right! I'll tell you!" the clone exclaimed, backing up in fear. I whipped out my X-Powder and opened it. The clone of Bridget extended her hand and shot a wire from her index finger that plugged into my X-Powder and downloaded the coordinates.

"I'll say this: Macker did a pretty good job in his cloning. He even got my glasses right!" Bridget said.

"Come on, girls – and Mat," I said, dialing Jerry with my X-Powder. "We've got 2 crooked criminals to catch!"

"Jerry, we need a Skyskimmer pick-up. Destination: Quebec, Canada," I said to Jerry.

(From **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

(Note to **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**: That's okay. As long as you send it to me, I'm happy. I like what you put. I'm gonna send this back to you when I'm finished, as well as the final chapter for "Music Monster Much" in case you lost when your computer crashed.)

"Consider it done, Nick," Jerry responded to us.

"Have you 6 found out anything else?"

"Actually, yeah," Sam said to Jerry.

"We found out that Macker the Safecracker is also involved with Scam. Macker made clones of all of us, and we don't know how he did it."

"Absolutely," I added.

When Jerry and the 6 of us hung up, the Skyskimmer landed near us. We all boarded the plane, and flew off to Quebec with Sam was at the wheel.

"How much longer until we reach Quebec?" Haruka asked.

"We should be there very shortly," Sam responded.

"I'm still baffled about how Macker made those clones of all 6, or 7 of us rather. How the heck did he do it?" I said.

"Who knows," Bridget replied.

**9:32 p.m. -- Quebec, Canada**

We arrived in Quebec via the Skyskimmer.

"Okay, here we are. Now, everyone start searching for Macker's hideout," Sam said to all of us.

"But where do we start, Sammy?" Clover asked.

"Good question," Sam said.

"Why don't we split up?" I suggested.

"Good idea, Mat," Haruka said.

"I'll go this way with Sam and Clover; Nick, you, Haruka, and Bridget go the other way, and if you spot Macker's hideout, give us a buzz," I said.

"You got it, Mathew," Bridget said.

We went our separate ways and set off to find Macker's hideout.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Nick, Haruka, and Bridget peeked around the corner; so far, they'd had no luck in finding Macker's hideout.

"What do you think?" Haruka asked.

"It doesn't look very suspicious," Bridget noted, using her night-vision sunglasses to scan the area for any abnormalities.

"I still don't trust those villains," Nick said. "They're too sneaky for their own good."

All of a sudden, Nick heard a metallic movement right behind them. He turned around, and came face-to-face with one of Macker's armed robotic guards.

"The cavalry!" Haruka exclaimed.

"RUN!" Nick shouted.

With that, the three began running away through the tall grass. However, the robot was catching up quickly, with every intention of turning our heroes into lunch meat. The tall grass was slowing the three down!

"Oh, no! He's catching up!" Bridget exclaimed.

"Should we try that 'track trick' we've learned?" Haruka asked.

"Good idea, Haruka! Speed Formation, everybody!" Nick shouted. With that, Haruka and Bridget lined up behind Nick, and all three started dashing forward faster, using their positions to tear through the grassy ground. Bridget looked behind her, and noticed that the robot was being left behind in their wake.

"It's working! Keep it up, guys!" she exclaimed.

They kept in Speed Formation until they'd lost the robot.

"All right! It worked!" Haruka said.

"We'd better contact the others and let them know that Macker and Scam are watching us," Bridget said, just about to open her X-Powder to dial the other team.

Suddenly, Nick couldn't feel the ground under his feet. Confirming this, he looked down and saw nothing but a _long_ drop to the bottom of a huge waterfall. That exact instant, everyone began falling to what appeared to be their demise.

"Wait! This doesn't add up!" Haruka said after a while, thinking about their current situation. "We were trapped in about 20 feet of tall grass. Why did the waterfall come up without warning?"

"Wait a second, Haruka, maybe you're right!" Nick shouted. He looked around for a spot they could land on. So far, nothing. Unless...

"Girls, hold on tight!" Nick exclaimed, thrusting his hand out and encasing Haruka and Bridget in protective psychic orbs. Still keeping his psychic powers going, Nick reached for his zipline bracelet and fired, the metal claw of the line grasping a sturdy tree a few feet above them. Nick began reeling themselves in, and once all 3 were on solid ground, Nick retracted the zipline and the psychic orbs disappeared.

"Man, how close was that?" Bridget said, catching her breath.

"I'm gonna call the others and tell them to watch out for anything suspicious around here. I know Macker and Scam aren't stupid; this whole area is probably booby-trapped," Nick said, flipping open his X-Powder and dialing Sam, Clover, and Mathew.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

And that's chapter 4!

Next time:

Log 5: Hideout Hideaway

After finding Macker's hideout, a fierce battle ensues. Who will be on the winner's side?

'till next,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	5. Hideout Hideaway

(Here is the next chapter for "Beyond the Looking Glass". Thanks to **SonicLover**, and **The Time Traveler** for reviewing. Now, for the replies.)

**SonicLover**: Normally, I do replies, but I only do it if I'm starting the chapter. Obviously you've played waaayyyy too much Sonic Heroes. Wanna do another joint story with me after my 3rd one with **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**? You see, next I'm doing my next episode, then another joint story with him, then maybe I'll do another one with you, but I can do one with you while I'm waiting for him to send me his chapter, and me send him my chapter.

**The Time Traveler**: Thanks a lot. Have you rethought my offer for a joint story? Hopefully you have, and accepted it. If you do accept it, let me know when you want to do it. 'Kay?

Copyright 2005

Chapter 5: Hideout Hideaway

**10:21 p.m. -- Another Section of Quebec, Canada**

Meanwhile, Sam, Clover and I weren't having much luck in finding Macker's hideout, when all of a sudden, Sam's X-powder rang. She took it out, and opened it up. It was Nick.

"Sam, is that you?" Nick asked over the line.

"Yeah. What is it?" Sam asked.

"You, Mathew, and Clover have to be careful where you are. Bridget, Haruka, and I have already almost fallen to 2 of Macker's and Tim's booby traps. We think the entire island might be booby trapped, so keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious," Nick said to us.

"Is there anything happening on your side?" Haruka asked, looking over Nick's shoulder.

"No. We've been pretty much staying clean for most of the time," I answered.

"Well, be careful you guys," Bridget said to us.

"Not a problem, Bridget," Clover said to them.

"And thanks for the early info, Nick. We'll be sure to watch out for anything suspicious," Sam added.

When we all hung up on each other, Sam put her X-powder in her jumpsuit pocket.

"Man, how are we gonna find Macker's hideout in a place like this?" Sam asked.

"Who knows," I answered.

"Is that it over there?" Clover asked, pointing straight ahead.

Her finger was pointed at a small straw hut that stood about 20 feet in front of them.

"I highly doubt that would be Macker's and Scam's hideout, but it's worth a shot, Clover. Let's get going, girls," I said.

"Wait, Mathew," Sam said, suddenly grabbing me and Clover.

"Nick pointed out that this entire island is booby trapped and they've already fallen to two of them, but were fortunate enough to escape them. We need to approach the hut very cautiously, and hope not to suffer the same fate as the others."

"That's a good point, Sammy," I said.

"So, now what do we do?" Clover asked.

"We go on, but very cautiously, and very gingerly; and pray that we don't get snapped by a booby trap," Sam answered.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Nick, Haruka, and Bridget were being very careful not to step into another trap while exploring a mysterious section of the forest.

"Why do you think Macker would team up with someone like Tim Scam?" Bridget asked, straightening her hair.

"It's obvious, isn't it? Two villains together would probably be more dangerous," Nick replied.

"You know, I think you guys may have a point," Haruka continued. "So far, Macker and Scam are some of the very few 'competent' villains we've faced during our spy career. Those two combined could be trouble with a capital T."

Just then, a couple dozen laser cannons shot out of the nearby bushes, all aiming themselves for Nick, Haruka, and Bridget.

"I knew it," Bridget said, covering her head with her hands.

"Stand back, girls," Nick said, thrusting his hand out, which was now glowing a psychic yellow. Every single laser cannon was engulfed in psychic orbs. At that precise moment, the cannons fired, but the blasts rebounded back at the source, thanks to Nick's psychic energies. All the cannons blew up on the spot.

"That takes care of that," Nick said.

Suddenly, a mechanical vulture with _very_ sharp claws came swooping out of the nearby airspace.

"This one's mine," Haruka said, activating her zipline bracelet and shooting up to a tall tree. Just as the vulture passed by, Haruka utilized her graceful agility and did a backflip onto the body of the robotic bird of prey, subsequently smashing her feet into it. The bird dropped to the ground and started sparking as Haruka landed gracefully on the ground next to Nick and Bridget.

"Even after 4 years, I still can not understand how you do that, Haruka," Nick said, quite impressed by Haruka's little trick.

"All I can say is that I utilize my track skills," the brunette said before taking out her X-Powder and taking a microchip from the downed robotic bird.

"Say, what are you doing, Haruka?" Bridget asked.

"I'm hooking my X-Powder up to one of this bird's micro-thingies. I'm gonna track it to its source, and then we might be able to find Tim and Macker's hideout, stop their crazy plans, and save Alex," Haruka explained as she began scanning on the X-Powder. A few minutes later...

"Bingo! I've got the location of the hideout!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Looks like we're one step closer to finding my girlfriend," Nick said, flipping his own X-Powder open and dialing Sam, Clover, and Mathew.

"What's up, guys?" Mathew asked on the other end.

"Target acquired, guys. We found Macker's hideout, and I'm sending the coordinates to your X-Powders right now," Nick said, transmitting the data to the others.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

"That's great, guys. Let us catch up to you 3 and lead us to it," I said.

"You got it, Mathew," Haruka and Bridget said.

After we hung up, Clover and I followed Sam to Bridget, Haruka, and Nick. When we found them, Nick led the 5 of us to Macker and Tim's hideout. When Nick stopped us, we were standing in front of Macker and Scam's hideout. It turned out to be an old rickety house with plenty of loose boards inside and outside.

"This is Macker's hideout?" I said.

"Apparently this is," Haruka responded.

"I didn't count on it looking like this piece of junk," Clover said.

"Is Alex inside?" Bridget asked.

"She should be, Bridget," Sam said.

"After all, this IS Macker's and Scam's hideout."

"Come on, guys, and girls. Let's get going and save my girl," Nick responded.

"Wait, we need some kind of plan or something when we see the two of them," I pointed out.

"Mathew's got a point there, guys," Sam said.

"What should we do?" Haruka asked.

"I've got a plan that just might work," Sam responded.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

A few minutes later, after discussing their course of action, everyone was heading through the oddly-shaped hideout to find Alex and stop the villains.

"Whoa! My X-Powder's picking up some off-the-scale energy readings!" Nick exclaimed, looking at the readouts on his X-Powder screen.

"What do you think is giving off all that energy?" Bridget asked.

"I'd say we're about to find out just what that is. The readings are coming from behind this door," Mathew said, pointing to a large, steel-plated door in front of them.

Nick thrust his hand out, and the door became engulfed in a silver and yellow light. Nick used his psychic energies to open the door for the group, and sitting proudly in front of them in the room up ahead, was a gigantic laser cannon.

"What the...?" Haruka and Bridget said at the same time.

"You know, this thing looks oddly familiar," Nick said, walking up to the cannon's control console and hacking into its data files with his X-Powder.

"All right, got something! The data says that this is called the Eclipse Cannon, and with enough energy output, it can wipe out an entire star system with just one blast," Nick said, reading off of the files.

"Why would he want to destroy stars?" Clover asked. "That's so 70s."

"Unless..." Bridget suddenly shot upright. "Guys! What if he's planning to use this cannon to destroy the Earth?"

"I don't think they'd do something as absurd as that, Bridget," Nick said, walking back to the girls and Mathew. "It sounds kinda silly, really: how could Macker and Tim conquer the world if there's no world to conquer?"

"Good point," Haruka said, walking towards the back of the machine, having seen some sparkles.

"They must be aiming for a specific target..." Nick said, pondering the situation. Suddenly, it hit him like a ton of bricks. "I'll bet they're planning to destroy Beverly Hills with this thing!"

All the girls and Mat gasped.

"I don't get it, though. To do something like that, they'd need insane amounts of energy!" Sam inquired. "How are they getting that kind of power?"

"I believe it would be these," Haruka said, walking back from the other side of the machine. She was holding a glowing silver gemstone in her hands.

"The Psy-Stones! Of course!" Nick said, instantly recognizing the mystical jewel from his time-travel case. "How many does he have?"

"Well, from what I saw, they've only got 6 of the stones. They'd need all 7 to fully power this thing," Haruka explained.

"Do you mean this?" a menacing voice echoed throughout the area. All 6 spies turned to see Macker, Tim Scam, and Alex, the former holding a glowing green gem.

"You guys again," Bridget said, shifting into fighting stance.

"For the last time, you freaks, _give me back my girlfriend!_" Nick exclaimed, a gold psychic aura springing to life around him.

"I may as well," Macker said. "You'll all be dead soon. The Eclipse Cannon will destroy your beloved city of Beverly Hills! And that's just for starters."

Alex, now out of her trance, stumbled back to the spies, and together, everyone took a fighting pose.

"That's not gonna happen, you psycho villains!" Alex exclaimed.

"We're going to stop you here and now!" Nick shouted.

"I'd like to see you try!" Tim shouted, throwing the final Psy-Stone into a slot on the back of the machine. The very next instant, the entire room began rumbling with near-earthquake force as the cannon began powering up.

"Well, we're off," Macker said.

"We're going to Beverly Hills to see its utter destruction!" Tim said as both villains left the room. The room began falling apart under the ferocity.

All 7 spies looked upwards to see the cannon fire an enormous pink energy beam through the skylight. Nick instantly spun towards Sam.

"Sammy! How long before that blast reaches Beverly Hills?" he exclaimed.

"I'd say about 30 minutes!" Sam said, punching in numbers on her X-Powder.

"The Skyskimmer's too far away! We'll never make it in time!" Haruka shouted.

"Oh, yes, we will. Hold on tight!" Nick said, waving his hand. All 7 spies were encased in a gigantic psychic orb that disappeared the next second. Everyone appeared at the Skyskimmer a few seconds later.

"Thanks, Nick. I don't know what we'd do without you," Alex said, climbing into the Skyskimmer.

"Let's hurry, Spies! There's no time to lose!" Nick shouted, initiating liftoff procedures. Once they were off the island, the plane shot at near supersonic speeds towards their city.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Next time:

Chapter 6: Enigmatic Ending

It's all or nothing as the spies launch an all-out rally to stop the Eclipse Cannon from destroying their beloved city. But is it already too late?

See ya later,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	6. Enigmatic Ending

(All right! Here's the next chapter! This is building up! Enjoy!)

(Note from **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**: We are SO SORRY for the long wait. My computer was taken away 2 months ago, and I finally got a new one for Christmas, so we're back now!)

Log 6: Enigmatic Ending

About 25 minutes later, the 7 spies had reached Beverly Hills, with only a few minutes to spare before the blast from the Eclipse Cannon would decimate their beloved city.

"Okay, spies, if we're gonna stop that thing, we need a plan!" Nick said as Clover, Haruka, Bridget, Alex, and Mathew stood by the horizon of the lakeshore to watch for the beam.

"According to my calculations, the only thing that could possibly stop such a powerful energy burst is another, equally powerful energy burst," Sam said, sounding worried – not at all like her usual self.

"But where will be able to get that kind of power in 3 minutes?" Nick said in worry.

"Here, try these," Haruka said as she stepped up and revealed the 7 Psy-Stones, which began spinning around Nick, reacting to and sharply magnifying his intense psychic energies – just as they had done before.

"Thanks, Haruka-chan," Nick said, stepping up to the horizon where the other spies were keeping lookout.

"Here it comes!" Clover shouted, pointing to an unmistakable pink glow that was rapidly approaching.

"All right, spies. We're only gonna get one shot at this, so let's give it everything we've got!" Nick shouted, as a fierce yellow aura emanated from him.

"Right!" everyone said, whipping out their Wind Tunnel 9000s and setting them to full power. Nick, on the other hand, brought his own hands back and began forming a glowing ball of yellow energy.

As the ball of power Nick was forming began growing, it also began radiating with an intense yellow light. Suddenly, Nick could see the pink speck rapidly approach them.

"Fire on my signal, spies," Nick said, making sure to wait for the right moment.

A few seconds later, a giant, pink, cylindrical energy could be seen across the city.

_It's now or never_, Nick thought.

"FIRE!" he shouted.

With that, Nick thrust his hands forward and fired an immense, pulsating psychic energy beam from his outstretched hands. That instant, the others fired their Wind Tunnel 9000s into Nick's blast, adding some energy to it.

The two beams collided in the middle of the ocean with enough force to shake up the whole city. The buildings in Beverly Hills actually seemed to quake under the intense power struggle that was going on.

The blast from the Eclipse Cannon was determined not to stray from its course, and eventually began pushing back the spies' combined efforts.

"Come on, girls! We need a little more power!" Nick shouted, and the girls and Mat nodded, setting their Wind Tunnels into Overdrive Mode (soon to be trademarked) and pressing the trigger. The bursts of wind from the devices grew in size, helping Nick's beam push the pink, destructive energy back a ways.

"All right!" Nick shouted, pushing his own beam forward a little.

"Is there any way we can stop the Eclipse Cannon from here?" Bridget asked.

"I don't think we can, Bridget," Mathew said. "We've got our hands full here, and even if we were able to hack into the computer system, I don't think our X-Powders would be able to handle all the energy output from the cannon!"

Suddenly, a blast could be heard, and suddenly Haruka fell down, clutching her shoulder. The same thing happened to Clover, then Alex, and even Sam. One by one, the others fell. Nick began looking around to see who had just shot his friends. He eventually saw Macker and Tim, the latter holding a laser gun.

"Don't you realize it, you worthless kid? Your whole city is doomed!" Macker said, pressing a button on a mysterious device in his hand.

All of a sudden, the Eclipse Cannon's beam surged with power and pushed forward quite a ways, so that it was only a few feet from Nick and his own beam.

"Oh, no! I don't think I can hold it much longer," Nick said, beginning to break down under the strain of holding back the massive pink energy beam.

"Just give in," Macker said with a sneer, "and accept your fate-"

"_Shut up!_" Nick shouted, his eyes glowing a fierce yellow. Tim and Macker were encased in psychic orbs. With that, Nick turned his attention to the beam he was holding back. He didn't think he could keep up for long. His energy was starting to dwindle, but he wouldn't give up. He wouldn't let his home be destroyed.

The pink beam pushed forward a little more, and Nick began to slip. He had to grasp the ground firmly to keep the city's last hope alive.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, followed by 5 other hands. He looked behind him to see everyone standing beside him.

"We know you can do it, Nick," Haruka said. Everyone was smiling brightly.

"And we're gonna help you," Clover continued.

"You've done so much for all of us..." Sam replied.

"And I think it's time we return the favor," Mat finished for his girlfriend.

"Aw, thanks, guys," Nick said, doing his best to keep the blast from reaching them. Alex walked up and kissed Nick on the cheek, and suddenly, he felt re-energized, thanks to everyone's belief in him.

"What is this? I thought we'd disposed of them!" Macker exclaimed.

"They're too damn stubborn, that's why, you idiot!" Tim screamed.

His energy beam surged back to life, pushing the pink energy beam back again.

_Come on, Nick. I know you can do it_, Bridget thought.

With one last battle cry, Nick thrust his hands out, and every last ounce of his psychic power poured into his energy beam, causing it to grow in size pretty quickly. Soon enough, Nick's psychic beam tore through the blast from the Eclipse Cannon, cutting it apart like a knife through pastrami.

Once all the pink, destructive energy was gone, Nick finally dispelled his own psychic beam, letting the golden energy disperse. Smiling, he flipped open his X-Powder and dialed Jerry. "Jerry? Mission complete. We've got 2 criminals ready for pickup by the shoreline."

"Affirmative. Say, what was that weird rumbling?" Jerry inquired.

"We'll explain when we get there," Nick said. Then, he collapsed to the ground, feeling the last of his energy leave him. As he slipped into unconsciousness, the last thing he said was...

"I did it, Mom..."

Alex nearly screamed as she ran over to Nick's unconscious body. "Please don't tell me he's dead..." she said, tears forming in her eyes.

Haruka quickly checked Nick's pulse. "No, he's alive... he's just out like a light from when he kicked it into energy overdrive back there. He saved this whole city, you know?"

"He sure did," Bridget said, walking up to Haruka. "Come on, let's get him to WOOHP. We can tell Jerry what happened when we get there."

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

(Note to **The Time Traveler**: That's great that you want to. I'm gonna leave whatever we want to do for our joint story up to you. Just give it as much thought as you can. Hopefully you'll come up with something. And since I do self-insertion on all my stories, why don't you do the same thing as me. You know, include yourself in it as well? For now, enjoy this, and I do have a treat coming up either in this chapter, or the next one.)

**7:21 p.m. -- WOOHP Headquarters**

The 7 of us all arrived at WOOHP. Haruka, Bridget and Alex were helping out carrying Nick. Jerry stood in front of us wearing his usual suit and tie.

"Congratulations, spies," Jerry said.

"No time for that, Jerry," I said.

"Mathew's right, Jerry. Nick fainted after he kicked his psychic power into overdrive in order to save good old Beverly Hills," Sam replied.

"He still has his pulse going though," Bridget added.

"Don't worry, spies," Jerry said.

"WOOHP will try their best to save Nick."

Me, Jerry, and the 5 girls rushed Nick to one of WOOHP's emergency rooms. Haruka, Bridget and Alex set an unconscious Nick on a table and Jerry got to work.

"Nick needs some oxygen and some fluids," Jerry said. He started to give some orders to some of the girls and me.

"Sam, you and Mathew get to the WOOHP kitchen and get some drinks for Nick. The rest of the girls go get an oxygen tank immediately!"

With that, Sam and I rushed as fast as we could to the kitchen to get Nick some drinks, and the rest of the group went to get a nearby oxygen tank for Nick as well. When we got back, Jerry hooked up an oxygen mask to the tank, and placed it over Nick's mouth and nose. Haruka, Bridget and Alex crossed their fingers hoping that Nick would come around.

"Oh, come on, Nick. You just gotta come around!" Alex said as tears started coming from her eyes. Haruka and Bridget tried holding back their tears as hard as they could.

After a half-hour passed, Nick started opening his eyes. Alex, Haruka and Bridget were excited. Alex was the most excited as she came up to Nick and hugged him, but tried to be as gentle as she could. Sam and I gave him some drinks we got earlier from the kitchen.

"Thanks, you two," Nick said weakly as he continued to drink to get himself hydrated. "I don't know _what_ I'd do without you."

"Well, that's great that Nick is still with us," Jerry said.

"For now, you 7 can go."

Jerry held a remote control behind his back, pressed the button, and we all fell out of WOOHP.

**9:40 p.m. -- Spies' Villa**

Later that night when we got back home, all 7 of us were doing different things. Clover and Nick had already gone to bed to get some much-needed rest, I was watching some late night TV, Sam and Haruka were swimming in the pool, and Alex and Bridget were relaxing in the jacuzzi. All of them were in their same swimwear, while Alex was in her 2-piece yellow bathing suit.

"Man, I'm so happy to have Nick back with us," Alex said to the girls.

"We know, Alex. We just got lucky that Nick is still alive after what happened a little while ago," Sam said, feeling happy for Alex.

"We're happy that Nick's still alive as well," Haruka and Bridget said together.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

A few hours later, Nick woke up feeling all right, even if his back was still sore.

"Man, my back hurts so badly," Nick said, slowly getting out of bed and changing into his swim trunks. "Maybe a swim will help me get myself together."

When he was completely changed, Nick walked downstairs, passing Mathew, who was watching TV. He then noticed that Sam and Haruka were swimming, and Alex and Bridget were relaxing in the jacuzzi.

No one noticed Nick coming by until they all heard another splash. They turned to see Nick enter the pool.

"Hey, Nick," Haruka said softly and sweetly.

"How you feeling, kid?" Sam asked.

"Much better than before. But, for some reason, my back is _killing_ me," Nick said, rubbing his sore back.

"Would you like a massage, Nick?" Haruka asked.

"Yes, please," Nick replied, and Haruka swam up and began softly rubbing Nick's sore shoulders, using a special family technqiue that soothed Nick to no end.

"Oh, that feels _so good_, Haruka-chan," Nick said.

"Family technique. And I'm glad you approve," Haruka replied softly.

"By the way, Nick, before you collapsed, you said 'I did it, Mom'. What did you mean by that?" Bridget asked, brushing a few strands of emerald hair out of her face.

"Um... well... I-I..." Nick stammered, at a loss for words.

"I can answer that," Haruka cut in. "A few years before we met Sam, Alex, Clover, and Mat, I was talking to Nick on the phone - we lived next door to each other - when all of a sudden, I heard Nick screaming. I ran over to his house, and saw that his mother had been attacked so brutally that I thought I would faint right there and then. The police later found that it was Tim Scam who'd attacked his mom. The last thing she said to Nick before she died was 'Find this guy and beat him for me'. That's what he meant when he said that at the battle site. He'd avenged his mother by saving Beverly Hills from Tim and the Eclipse Cannon."

Sam, Alex, and Bridget stood there, unable to say anything.

"Oh, Nick, I never knew..." Alex said softly.

"I've never told anyone but Haruka about that day," Nick replied sadly. "I was afraid someone with a twisted mind would try to take advantage of that."

"Don't worry, Nick," Haruka said, wrapping her arms around Nick. "With us by your side, that's not gonna happen."

"Thanks. You guys are so good to me..."

"It's what we do," Sam said. "We're all best friends, and that's never gonna change."

"That's the truth," Bridget said, giving a thumbs up.

Nick smiled for the first time in a while. He was so glad to have his friends by his side...

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Next time:

Log 7: Ambitious Aftermath

After a well-deserved rest, the Spies find out that Mat's gonna be in an Extreme Dodgeball match! But, is there something shady going on under the cover of this match?

Ja ne,

S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	7. Dodgeball Dodge

(Here's chapter 7. Hope you like it.)

Copyright 2005

Chapter 7: Dodgeball Dodge

(Written by **Mat49324**)

**12:37 p.m. -- Spies' Villa**

The girls, Nick, and I were hanging out by the pool. We were all wearing the same swimwear, and so was Bridget.

"Man, it's so good to have you back, Alex," Nick said.

"Same here, Nick," Alex said to Nick.

It was such a beautiful day to be outside. Haruka, Bridget, and the rest of the girls went for a swim in the pool, while Nick and I just lay on the beach chairs and continued to sunbathe.

"Hey, dude," I said to Nick.

"Yeah?" Nick said.

"How do you feel today?" I said.

"Better than when I collapsed back there. I'm lucky to be able to be alive and to still be with Alex, especially after that," Nick answered.

"Oh yeah, for sure," I said, agreeing with him.

After a few hours of playing outside of the water and inside, and even relaxing in the jacuzzi, we all changed clothes and the girls and Nick went inside to watch TV. I decided to go to the First National Memorial Field Coliseum at the Veteran's Dome Stadium Complex that was about 10 miles away from the spies' house. Before I left, I wrote a note to the others saying that I went to go see the commissioner, Rip Torn.

**At the Commissioner's office...**

"Are you sure you wanna play a game of 'Extreme Dodgeball' Mr. Vasconcellos?" Rip asked me.

"Yes, for sure, Mr. Torn," I said.

"I've been a long time watcher since last year when it premiered on GSN. Honest. And, 'Extreme Dodgeball' is when my 7-year old cousin and I bond together."

"Even though you're not in college yet, I like hearing that you and your cousin bond together by something like 'Extreme Dodgeball'. I'm letting you go out there on the court. Which team do you wanna go on?" Rip asked me.

"I wanna go on the L.A. Armed Response," I answered.

"Okay. That's a very good choice, and at just the right time, too. It seems that Damion Ward (58) has injured his ankle and he'll be out for the rest of the season," Rip said.

"Here's your outfit. Your match is at 7:00. Don't be late."

The outfit that Torn handed me was a black jersey with a police badge inscribed on the right side of the chest area that said L.A. Armed Response on it with a red circle in between the city and the team name, and black shorts. On the back of my jersey had the number 33 inscribed in white.

"Thanks, Mr. Torn. I promise that you or me won't regret it. I'm glad I'm living up to my dream," I said to Rip Torn. Rip handed me a map so I knew where the stadium was.

Meanwhile, back at the spies' house, everyone was looking around for me when I wasn't there.

"Where's Mathew?" Sam asked.

"I hope he didn't get kidnapped by somebody," Bridget said.

"My guess is that he didn't," Haruka said.

"Guys, look. Mat left a note," Nick said.

"What does it say, Nick?" Clover asked.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Huh. It says that he went to something called 'Extreme Dodgeball'. Have any of you ever heard of a sport like that?" Nick asked the others.

"Not really," Bridget replied.

"Hey, look at that," Haruka said, pointing to another part of the note. "It also says that he went to meet with the commissioner. Does Mat really know this guy?"

"In any case, we'd better check it out. It may be a trap," Clover responded.

"Just be careful out there if we do happen to run into a dodgeball match, okay, Haruka? I don't want you to get hurt like last time," Nick said to Haruka, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be all right, Nick. I don't wear glasses anymore, _especially_ after that," Haruka replied.

(flashback to 3 years ago)

_It was almost pure pandemonium in the school gym, but in a good kind of way._

_Beverly Hills Junior High's gym class was having their monthly all-out dodgeball game, and best friends Nick (13 years) and Haruka (12 years) were really tearing up the gym._

_Having launched all kinds of amazing special moves for their team, this game seemed to be in the bag for their team._

_However, something happened that would completely change the outcome of the game – in more ways than one._

_Haruka had just launched a rolling attack, making sure to duck the next incoming red sphere. She bent down to pick up a stray ball, when all of a sudden, Haruka got a strange feeling that something wasn't right. Adjusting her glasses so they wouldn't fall off of her face, she grabbed the ball, stood up..._

_...and was met with a flying sphere that slammed straight into her face, making her drop the ball she was holding just as she let out a yell before falling flat on her back. Her glasses had been shattered on impact, but thankfully, none of the glass had hurt her._

_Nick saw this and ran over to Haruka's side, dodging all kinds of flying spheres to reach his best friend. As he helped her up, he began looking around for whoever had thrown that ball at her._

_All of a sudden, he could see a ball coming straight for him, but he caught it easily. As Haruka steadied herself on the retractable stands nearby, Nick dropped the ball and struck it with his foot, sending the red sphere flying towards the other side. With that out of the way, he rushed back to Haruka._

_"Are you okay, Haruka?" he asked his friend._

_"Aside from the fact that my glasses are done like dinner, I should be okay," she replied, holding what was left of her glasses._

_"We'd better ask your mom if she can get you a new pair," Nick said, taking Haruka's hand and leading her out of the gym, so as to avoid any more sneak attacks._

(end flashback)

About 10 minutes later, Nick, Haruka, Bridget, Sam, Alex, and Clover had arrived at the First National Stadium Complex in downtown Beverly Hills, all curious as to just what Mathew was up to.

Suddenly, Nick could hear someone throwing something nearby. Peeking around the corner, Nick could eventually see Mathew throwing balls at other people in the arena.

_Wait. I think I recognize this sport now. Didn't Mat say something about this "Extreme Dodgeball" that was coming to Beverly Hills in October? This must be what he was talking about!_ Nick thought.

"Hey, Mat!" Nick shouted, drawing Mathew's attention. He signaled to the other players he was practicing with and walked up to the group.

"Hey, guys!" Mathew exclaimed.

"What's going on, Mathew? Where did you go?" Sam asked.

"Well, Sammy, to put it simply, the commissioner of 'Extreme Dodgeball' needed someone to replace one of the injured players on one of its teams, so he asked me, and I accepted. My first match is tomorrow night!" Mathew explained enthusiastically.

"That's awesome!" Clover replied.

"Which team are you gonna be on?" Nick asked.

"The L.A. Armed Response," Mathew replied.

"Wait. Didn't they say that the Armed Response would be the USA's representative at the World Competition this year?" Nick asked again.

(Note from **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**: I don't know much about Extreme Dodgeball, so just bear with me. If you want to know stuff about it, ask Mat. He knows a LOT more than I do about ED.)

"The one and the same," Mathew replied.

"Wow. You must be really lucky," Nick said, giving Mathew a high-five.

"It's always been my dream to play Extreme Dodgeball," Mathew replied enthusiastically.

"That's no big surprise, since we all know how big a sports fan you are," Bridget added.

"Would you guys like to come to my first match tomorrow night?" Mathew asked the group.

"Would we ever!" Nick, Sam, Alex, Clover, Haruka, and Bridget all exclaimed at the same time.

"Wait a minute," Haruka said as we all looked at her.

"What?" Mathew said to her.

"What team are you facing?" Haruka asked.

"The Denver Hurlers," Mathew answered.

"Weird name," Sam commented.

**Fast-forward to the next night...**

The First National Memorial Field Coliseum at the Veteran's Dome Stadium Complex was jam-packed the following night as the L.A. Armed Response was getting ready to play its 5th game of the season after hearing from Mathew that they had lost their first 4 games of their season -- 2 to New York Bling, 1 to the Chicago Hitmen, and the first one to the Denver Hurlers.

High above the field, Sam, Alex, and Clover were already seated, munching on buttered popcorn.

Suddenly, Alex noticed that the 3 seats beside the girls were vacant. "Hey, where's Nick and the others?" Alex asked.

"They went to get our sodas," Clover replied dreamily, her eyes full of hearts. Apparently, she'd spotted a really cute boy sitting a few rows above them.

By the concession stands not too far away, Nick, Haruka, and Bridget were carrying the group's sodas.

"Thanks for buying me my soda, Bridge," Nick said, using his pet name for Bridget.

"It's no problem, Nick. It's the least we could do after you helped save this whole city," Bridget replied, smiling brightly.

Thankfully for the three of them, everyone that was around them didn't overhear it.

"Let's head back, guys. The girls are probably worried. Plus, the game's about to start," Haruka said.

"Good idea," Nick and Bridget said at the same time.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Somebody said.

(written by **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

It was the "Extreme Dodgeball" sideline reporter, Michele Merkin. She was standing on the blue side of the court, which was the right side; the other side was orange colored.

"Now entering the arena, the team that represents the bunny slopes in snowboarding, it's the Denver Hurlers!"

The Hurlers entered the arena. They were led by celebrity captain, X-games gold medalist snowboarder, #1 Tara Dakides. She was followed up by #41 Micah Moses, #94 Bobby Roe, #34 Danno Kingman, #69 Gary "Spaz" Davis, #75 Adrian "The Ghoul" Quihuis, and #13 Kelly Lovato.

"Now entering the arena," Michele continued.

"The only dodgeball police squad in the entire world, heating it up, it's the L.A. Armed Response!"

The Armed Response team entered the arena. They were led by celebrity captain, actor and talk show host, #1 Mario Lopez. He was followed by #50 David "The Animal" Benedetto, then came #18 Tanya Fenderbosch, #26 Sebastien Sciotti, #99 Kel Watrin, #61 Mandy Sommers, and then I came out last.

"_Go, L.A.!_" Nick and the others cheered.

"I hope my Mathew's starting," Sam said.

"We're all gonna keep an eye out to see if he is," Bridget said.

"Good idea, girl," Haruka said to Bridget.

As the girls and Nick looked over at the orange side of the court, which is where my team was at, it turned out that L.A. wasn't going to start me. They were starting Fenderbosch, Benedetto, Sciotti, Watrin and Lopez. Denver was starting Dakides, Roe, Kingman, Moses, and Davis. Fortunately for me, I would be the first one to come in if someone caught a ball only if there were less than 4 people on the court, or I would get regenerated after 30 seconds if only one person was on the court. I was on the bench with Mandy Sommers.

"It looks like he isn't," Nick said, a little dejected as was Sam.

"Let's just hope he comes in soon," Haruka said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he will," Bridget replied.

2 balls (one red and one blue) were set on the white center line. 2 referees were standing on each side of the white line. The one in front of us, and the only one we could see was the head ref, Jim Burns, with the other ref, Chris Pierce on the other side.

"Denver, are you ready?" Burns said, looking at the orange side of the court.

Everyone on Denver gave him a cheer, and a "yes".

"L.A. are you ready?" Burns said to us.

Everyone on L.A. did the same thing as them.

"On the whistle," Burns continued, holding a whistle on his left hand. Burns blew it and the match was under way with the opening rush. 3 players for L.A. went for balls, while 2 players rushed to the center line for Denver.

(written by **Mat49324** and **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**. I did the conversation part; Mat did the dodgeball match part.)

In the stands, Nick and the others were cheering the Armed Response on along with all the other fans in the packed stadium.

It was a crapshoot of who would win. To start off, L.A. came out of the gate firing. Under the leadership of David "The Animal" Benedetto, Sebeastien Sciotti, and Kel Watrin, L.A. killed almost all of the 5 players on the Denver side of the court before one minute passed. Micah Moses was the last man standing for Denver. Just when Denver got close to L.A.'s lead, "The Animal" got a yellow card for delay of game.

"Oh no, this is huge," Haruka said, looking a little scared as Benedetto went into the penalty box and going for a catch.

"Yeah," Sam said.

Bobby Roe took the free shot at Benedetto and he almost had the catch. One point was awarded to Denver and they were down by one point.

"Oh no," Clover said.

"I hope they can hang on," Nick said.

"They better, after their very terrible start to the season," Bridget agreed.

L.A.'s captain Mario Lopez helped out the Armed Response with a regeneration of myself and I threw down my first 3 kills of the season on Dakides, Davis, and Moses. Unfortunately, Danno Kingman knocked me out, throwing a ball and hitting me in the elbow. As I left the court, I banged the plexiglas knowing better than that. To make matters worse, Lopez was the last man standing 3 times for L.A., and stepped on the center line twice in two different regeneration possibilities.

(Meanwhile, in the commentary booth with Bil Dwyer and Zach Selwyn)

Zach: GSN and Burger King want you to have it your way by picking the best dodgeballer of the game, so keep your thoughts handy because later on in the show, you'll have a chance to vote for the Burger King King of the Court. (Quick A/n: Yes you will have an opportunity to vote, but for me to tally up the percentage of votes, I will need a minimum of 10 votes because each vote will be worth 10 percent. When I get 10 votes or more -- which I hope I will get, I'll convert the number of votes into a percentage. Sound good?)

(back to the match/story)

A little ways into the last minutes of the first quarter, Nick decided to start up a conversation.

"So, girls, you excited about this?" Nick asked.

"You bet we are!" Alex replied enthusiastically. "It's been so long since we've gone to a sporting event."

"Hey, speaking of which, didn't one of our past missions involve a sporting event?" Haruka asked, keeping her voice low enough so none of the other fans would hear the mission part.

"Yeah, you're right, Haruka," Nick said, recounting one of Nick and Haruka's previous missions. In it, they'd been assigned to protect a NASCAR driver who had almost been kidnapped by a mysterious motorcyclist. After a while (and after Haruka had been kidnapped by the same motorcyclist), Nick had found the culprit on the cycle: an ex-NASCAR driver whose career had ended after a rather horrific accident wound him in the hospital for a few weeks. His plan was to kidnap the best drivers in the NASCAR league and force them to race on his so-called "ultimate race track" - a death-filled gauntlet filled with the craziest racing gimmicks anyone had ever seen. Thankfully, Nick had arrived just in time to shut down the fatal race, save Haruka and all the drivers, and send the villain packing.

"Wow," was all Clover was able to say.

"That guy must have been pretty ticked that he lost his career," Sam said.

"He was way off his rocker, huh?" Bridget added in.

"No doubt about it," Haruka replied. "I've always wanted to race, but not like _that_."

"I can't believe that she fainted when she heard about the track race the next day," Nick said, chuckling slightly.

Suddenly, a large cheer rose up from the fans of L.A.; the Armed Response had just scored once again, and Nick and the girls cheered along with the crowd.

"All right, L.A.! Show Denver how it's done!" Nick shouted.

Suddenly, Nick felt about 7 or 8 ice cubes fall onto his head. Someone above had just dumped the remains of his soda on Nick.

"You don't know squat! That was pure luck! Denver rules!" the obvious Hurlers fan above said to Nick.

"For your info, that was pure skill out there. And furthermore, _did I ask you?_" Nick snapped back.

"Just let it go, Nick," Haruka said, drawing Nick's attention away from the straggler above him.

"I'm sorry, Haruka. It's just that people like him always tick me off whenever I'm at a sports game," Nick replied. "Mom and I used to run into those guys all the time whenever we'd go to the basketball games."

"Really?" Bridget said in wonder.

"Oh, yeah," Nick replied. "Those kind of guys annoyed me to no end."

"It happens," Sam said. "They're just jerks."

"That's true," Alex added, munching on some popcorn.

Soon enough, the first quarter was over, with the Armed Response leading 14-9. But, no one knew what was about to happen next. Would L.A. win their first game of the season? Would they go 0-5? Would Denver mount a comeback?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Next Time:

Log 8: Psychic Paradox

When the second quarter starts, trouble arises, as Nick seems to have somehow lost control of his psychic powers. Can the girls get Nick to safety before something bad happens?

Cya next time,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	8. Psychic Paradox Part 1

(Welcome to Chapter 8, everybody! I never thought we'd get this far, but we did! Enjoy the next installment! Also, this chapter introduces Bridget's new special skill, Sonic Mode.)

Chapter 8: Psychic Paradox, Act 1

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Nick looked down at the field; the players were warming up for the second quarter, and so far, the Armed Response was winning.

It was just then that he felt it; a sort of spark, a mysterious feeling that he usually associated with his psychic powers. But he wasn't using his powers... was he?

He felt it again; this time it was stronger, though. The sensation almost made him feel sick.

Haruka was the first to notice; the others were too wrapped up in the game to see what was happening. "Nick? Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure, Haruka-chan. My stomach feels like it's going to burst... I've never felt like this before..." Nick strained, as the sensation was getting worse.

"What do you think it is?" Haruka replied.

Suddenly, Nick was hit with a realization.

"Oh, no... I think my psychic powers are out of control!" he said. Thankfully, Haruka was the only one who heard that, as the noise from the rest of the crowd drowned out most of what Nick said.

"Are you sure? You've never lost control before, have you?" Haruka asked, rubbing his shoulders in an attempt to soothe him. It only seemed to make the strain worse.

"That's...the thing... I...don't think...I can stop it!" Nick said just as his eyes flashed yellow, like they did whenever he called upon his psychic powers.

Suddenly, his whole body flashed bright yellow, and lots of people would have noticed the flash if they hadn't been paying so much attention to the game.

This was when the other girls took notice of Nick's strange behavior.

"Is something wrong with Nick?" Alex asked.

That was all they were able to say, because the very next second, a large psychic orb flew out from Nick, eventually covering the entire stadium and freezing everyone and everything the orb touched. When it stopped, Nick and Haruka were the only ones not frozen. Nick's body stopped flashing and his eyes returned to normal, giving enough time for Haruka to help Nick get through the sea of people before the effect of his new ability wore off. (She knew Nick's powers so well by now that she knew something like this was only temporary.)

Once she'd gotten Nick to safety, she sat down by him.

Nick looked at his best friend with shining eyes. "Haruka... this is scaring me... what's happening to me?" he cried, throwing his arms around Haruka and crying into her shoulder.

"It's okay, Nick... it's okay..." Haruka said, returning the embrace.

Nick suddenly felt the surge of his out-of-control powers disappear. He relaxed and settled into Haruka's embrace.

A few minutes passed, and time was still frozen.

"You feeling better?" Haruka asked Nick.

"Yeah, I think so. What just happened?" he replied, still a little shaken up.

"I think you may have just learned a new psychic power," the brunette said softly to her best friend.

"Really? I wish I could have learned it under a better circumstance," Nick replied.

"What kind of power do you think it is?" Haruka asked.

"Well, according to what I'm seeing, it may be the power to freeze time," Nick responded.

"We should get back to the game before the others find out what's going on," Haruka continued, helping Nick up. Together, the two went back to their seats. Haruka looked around at the stadium; everything was still yellow.

"Hey, Nick, do you think you can unfreeze this?" Haruka asked.

"On it," Nick replied, and with a wave of his hand, the yellow glow disappeared, and time started up again.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Haruka's P.O.V.)

"Good job, Nick," I said, feeling very relieved.

When we went to sit back down with Sam, Alex and Clover, Sam started to ask Nick something.

"Nick, what happened to you?" She asked.

"I-I don't know," Nick answered.

"For some reason, my psychic powers started to go berserk on me."

Sam started to think about what might've caused it. All of a sudden, I perked up.

"Do you think it could've been the ice that the guy poured over Nick?" I asked.

"It could be," Sam said.

"What's going on?" Clover asked, just taking notice of what Sam and I were talking about.

"Nick's psychic powers went berserk on him and he doesn't know how it happened. It even froze everyone but me and him in the entire audience," I answered.

"Haruka thinks it was the ice that the guy poured over Nick's head that might've done it," Sam said.

"I think you guys are right. My question is, what exactly was in that ice that made my powers spiral out of control?" Nick said.

"I'm not really sure. But for now, let's get back to the dodgeball game," I said.

(up in the booth with Bil Dwyer and Zach Selwyn)

Bil: Welcome back to Extreme Dodgeball. The Armed Response is up 14-9 over the Denver Hurlers. It's the 2nd quarter, which means it's time for the Big Ball to come out.

Zach: Bil, the big ball is obviously the biggest sphere we have on this show. It's a powerful weapon for defense.

Bil: That's correct, Zach. And it's also worth two points if you hit somebody with it. With that said, let's get down to the floor for the start of quarter 2.

(Back to the floor.)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

"On the whistle," Burns said, holding the same whistle in his left hand.

The opening rush began with the 3 balls on the center line -- one blue ball, one small red ball, and the big ball was red in color. I wound up grabbing the big ball while Denver's Bobby Roe and Gary "Spaz" Davis grabbed the other two small balls. Davis drew the first throw of the quarter, which was aimed at me, but I easily deflected that ball, and it popped in the air, but hit the wall before it popped up. I tossed the big ball over to one of my teammates, Tanya Fenderbosch (#18), while she tossed me the small blue ball -- kind of like a trade.

"You gotta throw, black," Burns said to us.

I took a brief listen to him, while getting ready to load up a simulthrow with David Benedetto. We both got ready with me holding the big ball after I called Tanya to toss it back to me. I had given the small ball to "The Animal" (or David Benedetto). I held it with two hands, high above my head and we both threw it, but however, things did work out at first, but didn't work out like I had hoped. Danno Kingman had caught the blue ball from Benedetto, but to make up for it, I had hit Adrian Quihuis with the big ball. With about 32 seconds to go, "Spaz" Davis threw the blue ball, which got deflected by Mario Lopez, popped up in the air, and I caught it, and just barely missed hitting Fenderbosch.

We tried holding on to the lead, but the Hurlers were too strong and defensive and we lost it with about 2 1/2 minutes to go. I had helped the Armed Response stay close with 5 kills, including one big ball kill, and 2 catches. Right in front of me was Sebastien Sciotti with 8 kills. Just then, the buzzer sounded and that was it for the 2nd quarter.

Just before both teams were asked to go to the locker room, the sideline reporter, Michele Merkin went up to me for a quick interview. She held an "Extreme Dodgeball" microphone in her hand.

"Dying to know, your teammates calls you 'MX Kid', why do they call you that?" Michele asked me, holding the microphone to my mouth.

"Because I do motocross in my spare time," I began to say.

"which is what MX stands for -- motocross, and MX Kids always ride, they are this fit, and they are this tough out on tracks."

"Do they always rise to the occassions?" Michele asked me.

"Cash rises to the occasions, the MX Kids continue to ride day after day," I answered.

"Okay, Bil, Zach, back to you," Michele said.

(up in the booth with Bil and Zach.)

Bil: Thanks, Michele. I have never heard of the nickname MX Kid. Have you, Zach?

Zach: Never have myself, Bil.

Bil: What kind of particular MX Kid makes you wanna go and ride? We'll take a short break and be back.

At the half, the Armed Response lost the 5 point lead we had, to end up trailing by 3. The score was 22-19, in favor of the Denver Hurlers, who had outscored the Armed Response 15-5 in that entire 2nd quarter. I was feeling pretty crushed, until Tanya walked with me back to the locker room.

"Hey, Mathew is it?" She asked me.

"Yeah, what is it, Tanya?" I asked.

"You're playing pretty good -- I'm impressed," Tanya said to me.

"Hey, thanks," I said.

Meanwhile, up in the stands, the girls and Nick were very worried about a possible loss.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Nick's P.O.V.)

"Man, this isn't good," I said.

"Let's just hope Mat can pull through," Haruka responded.

"Don't worry, Haruka," Sam replied. "My Mathew is gonna win this game for all of us. I'm sure of it."

Suddenly, I looked out the corner of my eye and saw a mysterious figure zip by the upper level. "Okay... that was weird..."

Haruka looked over at me, confusion in her eyes. "Something wrong, Nick?"

"I could have sworn I saw someone shady-looking go by the upper level," I replied, taking another look at the spot - the mystery figure zoomed by again. "There he goes again!"

"We'd better check it out," Sam commented, starting up from her seat.

"You guys just enjoy the halftime, Sammy. Haruka and I will check it out," I replied to her. With that, Haruka and I were off, and it was only then that I noticed Bridget was nowhere to be found.

As we reached the upper level, I quickly looked around for the mysterious figure.

"Where do you think he went?" Haruka asked me.

"And, for that matter, who was he?" I replied.

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

I had just stepped outside to get some fresh air during the Field Memorial's traditional "halftime rush", where people who were assigned bad seats decided to switch around during the halftime period to try and find a better seat. I always found this kinda funny. The managers never really seem to mind...

I looked back up at the stadium. _I hope I'm not worrying the others..._

Suddenly, I noticed a shady-looking figure slinking along near the 22nd level. "Who's that? Why does he look so suspicious?"

I didn't really need to ask myself that. I could tell who _that_ was by the way he slinked along. I'd recognize that pose anywhere. I flicked my hands out, and my jetpack backpack opened up and I was able to take off.

Back inside the stadium, the mysterious figure I'd seen kept on moving around, placing weird-looking gadgetry on certain, random spots in the long hallway.

"Soon, my plan will be complete, and I won't have to worry about those ridiculous spies ever again."

I stepped into the path of the mysterious figure.

"Hey. Still up to your no-good tricks, I presume."

(Back to Nick's P.O.V.)

I looked around for the figure I'd seen. So far, nothing. That is, until I heard what sounded like a scuffle. "I think that's who we're looking for! Come on!" I exclaimed as I ran towards the site of said scuffle, Haruka keeping up with me all the way.

When we actually reached the battle scene, I could see Bridget trading blow after blow with someone who seemed oddly familiar. I took a good look and realized that the guy Bridget was attacking was the same guy who'd dumped ice on my head before!

Or so I thought, as Bridget flipped onto her hands and performed her signature move, the Tempest Twist. Spinning on her hands, she extended her legs and began thwacking the guy across the face about 10 or 15 times. A few seconds later, something fell off of the guy's face... _a mask?_

I looked at the person without the mask, and gasped.

"Tim Scam! Didn't we just lock you up?" I exclaimed, shifting into a karate stance right beside Bridget.

"Not tightly enough, it would seem," Scam replied with a sneer on his face.

"So it was you! You're the one who made me lose control of my powers! You nearly put all of these people, _especially_ my friends, in serious danger!"

"That was the idea," Scam sneered.

"Just what are you planning this time?" Bridget asked, using her X-Powder to switch into her spy suit.

"I figured, since your little spy friends are distracted, I may as well commence with my new plan: to blow this stadium and you stupid spies to kingdom come!"

"Not on my watch!" I shot back, thrusting my hand out. My eyes began to glow their psychic yellow.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Scam interrupted. "I've equipped all of the remote sensors I just placed with a special device: if the sensors detect even the slightest trace of your psychic hooey, the bomb will instantly explode, so I'd watch where you tread!"

I could only stare on. "You little..."

"Now, I must go. I've got some spies to destroy," Scam said, starting to run away.

"What? Are you just gonna run off without a fight? That is _so_ boring!" Bridget exclaimed, entering a few keycodes into her X-Powder, then pressing a green button. She held her arms out and closed her eyes. She looked so refreshed during this phase. What happened next surprised both me and Scam: Bridget was covered in a bright green and silver light, apparently reacting to whatever she'd just punched in on her X-Powder. When the light cleared, she was in a green outfit similar to Lettuce from _Tokyo Mew Mew._ (Seriously, that's what it looks like!)

Bridget opened her eyes, her smile full of determination. "I've been waiting to try that one out," she said, her sweet voice full of confidence.

"What is that?" Scam and I both asked at the same time. I'd never seen this before!

"I see you're impressed by my Sonic Mode," Bridget replied. "This little function increases my speed and agility by about 10 or so times. I've been waiting for so long to try this mode out!"

"I dare you to catch me!" Scam shouted, activating the jet boosters on his feet and dashing away at a surprising speed. I looked over towards Bridget, about to say something to her – but she was gone.

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

I was feeling so amazing, being able to move this fast without breaking a sweat! Good thing Jerry kept me up-to-date on the progress of this little project of his. I wonder if I can convince him to give the others the Sonic Mode ability...

In a flash, I flew forward, my feet barely even touching the ground, and zipped right in front of the escaping Scam. I waved my finger accusingly.

"Ah, ah, ah! You're not going anywhere," I said to him.

Scam turned to dash back the way he came, but only to stop and see Nick standing there in a fighting stance. "There's no escape this time, Scam!" Nick shouted.

"When you can't go left or right, the only way out is up!" Scam exclaimed, using his jetpack to boost his way upwards. I shook my head. Do these villains _ever_ get tired of being so retro? Not to mention the corny catchphrases...

I reached behind my back, and spun around in a complete 360, revealing two prettied-up castanets that seemed to be resonating an invisible energy. I did a sort of dance with them before clapping them together a few times, sort of like maracas. The castanets unleashed a sonic disrupter wave that began to short-circuit Tim's backpack. He was still able to fly out of our reach, but that was okay. I knew he'd be back. We'd finish it then.

That settled, I ran back to Nick. From the look of supreme awe on his face, I would say he's impressed with my new ability. "Wow! Bridget, how'd you do that?" he asked me.

"You remember that 'secret project' that Jerry told you he was busy with a few weeks ago?" I replied to Nick.

"Actually, I think I do. Didn't it involve some sort of synthetic suit?" Nick replied.

"It sure was," I stated, looking my Sonic Mode uniform up and down. "What I didn't know it involved was the suit being so cute." I giggled. "Jerry said that once the suit was finished, whoever wore it would be at least 10 times faster and at least 10 times more agile. And he also said something about adding a special gimmick..." I looked at my castanets. _Thanks, Jerry._

"Come on, we've gotta find that bomb before things get messy," I said, taking Nick's hand into my own and flipping open my X-Powder, scanning the stadium for the location of said bomb. Upon finding the location (the opposite side of the stadium. Kinda silly, isn't it?), I looked back towards Nick. "Better hold on tight!"

Nick let his hands rest on my shoulders before I took off.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

"We better hurry. The 2nd half can start any second," Nick said to me.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," I said.

"For now, we gotta focus on capturing the dreaded Tim Scam!"

Nick couldn't agree with me more.

"Let's hurry it up then."

I carried Nick with his hands on my shoulders to catch Tim.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Back at the game, the 2nd half of the match was about to begin, and Sam, Alex, and Clover finally noticed that Nick and the others had been gone so long.

"Guys, where are Nick and the girls? I'm starting to worry about them," Clover asked.

"Yeah, I haven't seen them since the 1st half ended," Alex replied, worry showing in her voice.

"We'd better go find them. I hope they're not in trouble," Sam finished, and with that, the 3 spies were out of their seats and gone in a flash. Little did they know, they were heading in the exact direction of the bomb Scam had placed. Ironic, huh?

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

As I zipped along, I noticed that we were closing in on Scam, who was obviously racing us so he could self-detonate that ridiculous explosive before we could reach it. Okay, I thought. Enough is enough. This has to stop.

"Sorry, Timmy! This flight has been canceled!" I exclaimed, bringing out my Sonic Castanets (I finally named them!) and clapping them together. The result was a powerful sonic shockwave that flew straight towards the rebel agent. My technique struck home and knocked Scam off of his balance, giving me the leeway to zoom right by him.

"See ya, freak!" Nick exclaimed, sticking his tongue out. I giggled a bit as we closed in on the bomb.

"How much further, Bridget?" Nick asked me.

"We're almost there," I replied, checking the map on my X-Powder. "Just a few more minutes."

Suddenly, I could feel Nick's grip on my shoulders loosen a bit. I looked back at him; he looked like he was going to be sick.

"Nick? Is everything okay?" I asked him, a bit of worry showing in my voice.

"No... not again..." Nick said. His eyes began to flash yellow. Suddenly, it hit me... was he losing control of his psychic powers again?

I looked up; one of the sensors Tim had placed was starting to flash. It must have detected Nick! Thinking quickly, I clapped my castanets together, and the sonic disrupter wave struck the sensor, causing it to shut down just in time.

"Man, that was too close," I said, watching the stretch ahead of us for any more sensors. Nope, none. Scam must have run out of time to place the rest.

"There it is, Nick! Dead ahead!" I exclaimed, pointing to the bomb that Scam had placed.

Nick hopped off of my shoulders just as I skidded to a stop in front of the bomb. I instantly flicked my X-Powder open and began entering some codes in, seeing if I could hack into the bomb's files and shut it down from here. All of a sudden, electric bolts arced across my X-Powder, and I had to drop it out of fear of getting one hell of a shock.

"Is it some kind of protection?" Nick asked.

"Must be! I almost got deep-fried by that thing's security system!" I exclaimed.

"We're gonna have to shut it down from the inside," Nick said, carefully opening a panel on the explosive device and looking at the tangled mess of wires. Figures that they'd go _too_ high-tech with these things. I walked over to Nick and took a look to see if I could help him.

"Any luck?" I asked.

"Nothing. There's so many wires in here, I can't find anything to shut it down!" he replied. Man, did Scam pull a heavy-duty on this one, or what? I picked up my X-Powder and began scanning for a sign of weakness in the bomb.

"Nick, try looking for a silver wire! I think that just might shut it down!" I exclaimed, stealing a quick glance at the countdown, displayed in big, bold red numbers. _Way_ too retro...

_1:08_

"We'd better hurry, Nick! We only have a minute before this thing goes off!"

"Right! Now where is that stupid wire..." Nick replied, tangling through the mess of wires, only to back away as a bolt of electricity shot right past where he was standing. "Apparently, Scam doesn't want us toying with this thing," he said.

_0:39_

He went back to untangling the wires, and this time, there were no interruptions until he found the silver wire. "All right, now I've just gotta pull this thing out, and..." Nick tried and tried to pull the wire out, but from the look on his face, he wasn't having any luck. "Darn it! What kind of wires does he use on these things? I can't budge it!"

I thought for a second. Suddenly, I came up with an idea. It was a bit risky, but it was chance I had to take.

"Nick! Try using your psychic powers to remove that thing!" I exclaimed.

"WHAT? Bridget, did you hear Tim? He said that if those sensors detect any trace of me using my powers, this bomb would explode instantly!"

"That's the thing," I said, smiling. This would be our trump card.

_0:24_

"When I short-circuited that other sensor, I noticed something: it didn't detect your psychic energies until 5 seconds after it happened. If you can use them quickly, we just might be able to stop this thing."

_0:14_

"I sure hope you're right, Bridget," Nick said with hesitance, turning back to the wires. "Cause if this thing blows, we're toast."

Nick thrust his hand out, and it began glowing his psychic yellow. Instantly, the silver wire was enveloped in the same glow.

_0:03_

I stood with my back to the wall, fingers crossed and hoping this would work. Nick then jerked his hand back, and the silver wire came flying out. Once it'd been disconnected, Nick dispersed his powers.

_0:01_

I could hear the sound of the bomb shutting down. I checked the countdown; it'd stopped at 0:01. I breathed a sigh of relief. "We... we did it..." was all I could say, leaning on Nick for support. I almost thought that wouldn't work...

I looked over to Nick, and smiling, I gave him a thumbs up.

Noticing, he returned it.

That was when Sam, Alex, Clover, and Haruka arrived, all in their spy suits. The first thing they noticed was me in my Sonic Mode uniform.

"Hey, Bridget? What's with the new uniform? And why do you two look like you're out of breath?" Clover asked.

"We'll 411 you on the way back to the game," I replied.

Little did I know, Tim was lurking around a corner, holding something in his hand.

"They took the bait. Stupid spies didn't even realize that that bomb was a fake," Scam said quietly.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Next time:

Log 9: Psychic Paradox, Act 2

Before the start of the 3rd quarter of the match, Tim Scam finds time to place and arm the REAL bomb. Can the spies stop this new explosive before it's too late? Plus, we finally find out what _really_ happened to Bridget's cousin Jeremy...

A/N: We're SO sorry for the long wait. Wireless networking is tougher than you might think... We're back now!

See you in hyperdrive,

S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	9. Psychic Paradox Part 2

(Here's chapter 9 of "Beyond the Looking Glass". Hope you like.)

Chapter 9: Psychic Paradox, Act 2

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

"Nice going, Bridget," Haruka said to me, and high-fiving me.

"Hold on, ladies," Nick said.

"For some reason, I hear another one that might set off in about 80 seconds."

The rest of us took a listen, and we found out Nick was right.

"Then, this one was a _fake_!" Clover screamed.

"Ugh, that Scam!" Sam hissed.

"I'd like to find him and break all the bones in his body!"

"Maybe I should call Mathew to see if he knows about a bomb that may be near him," I suggested.

"Don't do it," Sam said.

"If you do, then his teammates will get suspicious, and worse yet, he might not make it back in time for the 2nd half!"

"Sammy's right, Bridget," Alex said.

"For now, we gotta cut this chit-chat and find that bomb before it explodes," Nick said.

"It's do or die, girls!"

With that, the 6 of us (minus Mathew) set off to find the bomb without hesitation.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," Sam said.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Author's Note from **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**: This section should clear up some questions on what _really _happened to Bridget's cousin Jeremy.)

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

"I've got it!" I exclaimed. "Let's split up! That way, we can cover more ground faster, and we just may find that ticking time bomb before it goes off!"

"Great idea, Bridget!" Nick replied. "Come on, spies! Let's do this!"

With that, we split up into 2 teams, Sam, Alex, and Clover on one team, and me and Nick on the other, and headed off.

As we ran (surprisingly, Nick was able to keep up with me, even though I was still in Sonic Mode, until I realized I wasn't running at full speed. Silly me), I could notice Nick staring at something in my hair. _Does he know?_

"Hey, Bridget?" he asked. "I just noticed those braids in your hair. How come you never told me that you wore your hair up that much?"

_He knows,_ I thought. This would be hard to do.

"Up until now, Jeremy's been the only one who's ever seen me with my hair down. Do you promise not to laugh?"

"Why would I laugh at something like that, Bridget? I _promise_ I won't laugh."

"Okay..." I reached behind my head to undo the braids that held my hair up. Once they were discarded, I let my hair loose, which flowed down to my waist. I could tell Nick was awestruck.

"Wow, Bridget! You're so beautiful!" Nick exclaimed. I could feel a _large_ blush coming on. _That's another reason we're still such great friends. He's so sweet..._

"I'm confused about something, Bridget. Why would you think I'd laugh at you, especially when you look so beautiful?"

I swear I could have been mistaken for a tomato if I had been blushing any harder. "Well... people didn't seem to like me much when I had my hair like this back then. They said it made me look too geeky..."

"I don't know why they'd think that," Nick replied.

"Then, after school one day, Jeremy noticed the braids I'd been wearing. He really wanted to see me without the braids. So, I showed him, and he was the only one I knew besides you who didn't laugh at me. He really understood. That's why I like Jeremy so much..." Suddenly, tears began to fall from my emerald eyes. I didn't realize I missed him so much...

And, apparently, Nick noticed. "Bridget..." he asked in a soft voice, nothing at all like the Nick I knew. "What _really_ happened with Jeremy?"

I looked away from him for a few seconds. _I had a feeling he was going to ask about that. Still, he's one of my best friends, and I think he deserves the right to know..._ My mind made up, I looked back at Nick.

"The only one who knows what really happened is my mother," I replied. "Do you promise not to tell anyone, not even Mat or the girls, what I'm about to tell you?"

"I promise, Bridget. I won't tell a soul."

"Okay. It happened about a year before I came back to Beverly Hills..."

(End Bridget's P.O.V., begin flashback)

_14-year-old Bridget Taylor was playing video games with her cousin Jeremy in their current home in West Virginia, and surprisingly, Bridget was winning. (Jeremy was really good at video games.) By the way, Bridget currently had her hair down._

"_You do realize I'm taking it easy on you, Jeremy?" Bridget said to her 13-year-old cousin._

"_You're using Kasumi, the character I'm always the master with, and you're actually beating me? I don't think you are taking it easy on me!" Jeremy responded, eliciting a giggle from his older cousin._

"_I guess I'm just good at this kind of fighting game!" Bridget replied, pulling the right trigger on her controller and pressing a few buttons, and with that last attack, Bridget had won the round._

"_YES!" Bridget cheered._

"_Lucky shot," Jeremy responded._

"_Man, I'm thirsty," Bridget said, standing up from her seat on Jeremy's futon. "I'm going downstairs for a soda."_

"_But once you come back, I'm taking you down," Jeremy responded with a laugh._

"_We'll see," Bridget responded before heading downstairs, her long hair waving as she moved. Neither she nor Jeremy noticed the person climbing up their windowsill..._

_As Bridget descended the stairs that led from her room, her mother, who had nearly the same hairstyle as her daughter, looked over at her. "Are you two playing fair up there?" Maria Taylor asked._

"_We're doing fine, Mom," Bridget responded, grabbing a Diet Pepsi from the fridge. "Jeremy's just a little iffed that I beat him as one of his favorite characters."_

"_He always did like Kasumi ever since he got that game," Maria responded with a slight giggle. This made Bridget laugh, too._

"_He still does, as a matter of fact-" Bridget's sentence was sharply cut off by a gunshot noise – coming from upstairs. This made Maria jump out of her seat._

"_What was that?" Maria exclaimed._

"_That came from upstairs!" Bridget replied, her soda long since forgotten. With that, she charged back upstairs, only to find the door to her room locked._

"_Mom, call the police!" Bridget shouted to her mother, who had already started dialing said police. Bridget began ramming herself into the sealed door. After 3 attempts, it went down and she fell into the room._

_What she saw almost made her faint on the spot; someone had shot Jeremy, who was laying on the floor, pretty much at death's door. Bridget looked around frantically for Jeremy's assailant, and she spotted the man climbing out her open window just in time._

"_You!" Bridget shouted, catching the man's attention. He hopped back into the room and drew his handgun, saying nothing. Apparently, Bridget wasn't scared of this guy._

"_How dare you... how DARE YOU attack my cousin!" Suddenly, Bridget just snapped and lunged out at the man with a powerful windmill kick. The man couldn't fire his gun in time, and was sent crashing to the floor from the sheer force of Bridget's attack. He quickly got up and held his gun towards the emerald-haired girl. He pulled the trigger, but Bridget was able to dodge, going into a roll under the man's legs, and performing a sweep kick that knocked the assailant to the floor. Once he'd gotten to his feet, he dashed down the open stairs, with Bridget in hot pursuit._

_Luckily for Bridget, the first thing the assailant faced upon reaching the bottom level of the house was the police, who'd responded quickly to Maria's call. While the police did their thing in arresting said gunman, Bridget dashed back upstairs to check on Jeremy. He didn't look like he was going to make it._

"_Please, Jeremy... please don't die on me..." Bridget began crying, hoping that her cousin would make it out of this alive._

(end flashback, back to Bridget's P.O.V.)

"Oh, Bridget, I never knew..." was all Nick could say after hearing my story.

"Jeremy... he didn't make it. He died in the hospital a few days after," I said, even more tears forming in my eyes. _Damn it, Bridget, don't cry. You have to stay strong._

Suddenly, I felt Nick's hand on my shoulder. I looked over at him.

"Bridget. It's okay to cry. It's not a sign of weakness. I would have felt the same way you did if that had happened to any of my relatives or friends. And no matter what I have to do, Bridget, I won't let that happen to anyone else. I promise."

I smiled weakly, letting the tears flow from my emerald eyes. "Thanks, Nick... You're a true friend, you know that?"

I stopped running so I could hug him. I just wanted a friend right now.

Thankfully, Nick was all too happy to oblige, returning the hug. "So are you, Bridget."

We stood like that for a short time, just happy to be with each other, until I suddenly remembered – "The bomb!" I exclaimed, looking around frantically.

"Don't worry, Bridget."

"What? Why?"

"It's right in front of us," Nick replied, pointing to a device strapped to the wall right behind where we stood.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

"Well, we didn't have to look far," I said.

"What do we do now, guys?" Haruka asked.

"Just give me time, Haruka," Nick said.

"We also gotta get back to the court for the start of the 2nd half," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, Sam's right, girls," Clover said.

All of a sudden, Nick started giving out orders.

"Sam, you, Clover, Alex and Haruka take one last check around the stadium for Scam -- he should be somewhere around here. Bridget and I will stay here and when I deactivate the bomb, meet us back at the seats."

"Gotcha, Nick," Sam said.

"Come on, girls. If we can find him in the stadium, we've got a bone to pick with him."

"We sure do," Alex said.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Nick's P.O.V.)

I quickly opened the panel that held the wires as Bridget began scanning for a weakness. She gasped a few seconds later.

"Nick, I don't think we can disarm this bomb! Scam put in a failsafe to keep someone from screwing it up!" Bridget exclaimed.

"WHAT?" I responded. _Damn you, Scam..._

"Is there anything we can do?" Bridget asked, worry starting to show.

"Not this time, Spies," Tim said from a nearby hideaway. "My bomb is unstoppable!"

"Just _shut up already, _Scam! I seriously want to get back to watching Mat in his game!" With that, I thrust my hand out, encasing Scam in a psychic orb. I looked out a nearby window, spotting WOOHP in the distance. I raised my hand and flicked it forward, tossing Scam through the open window and straight towards WOOHP. _Jerry should get the message,_ I thought.

"Well, if we can't deactivate it, let's try the next best thing! Bridget, can you make a hole in the ceiling for me quick?" I exclaimed.

"On it!" Bridget replied, clapping her Sonic Castanets together and creating a sonic disrupter wave that cut a good-sized hole in the ceiling. It immediately fell down, but I knew I could fix the hole once I was done here.

"Hurry, Nick! Only 5 seconds left!" Bridget exclaimed, covering her eyes.

I thrust out my hand, and the bomb was enveloped in my psychic hold. With 2 seconds left, I thrust my hand upward, and the explosive was rather quickly sent flying through the hole Bridget had created, and straight into the sky. Just as it disappeared from view, it exploded, safely out of range. "Been wanting to try that one," I said to myself.

I looked over to Bridget, who was still covering her eyes, awaiting the imminent explosion. "Um, Bridge, you can open your eyes now. It's gone."

She slowly uncovered her eyes. "Um... uh, Nick... what happened to the bomb?"

"Flung it into the sky. Been waiting to try that one out for a while," I answered, just as my X-Powder rang. I flipped it open, and there stood Sam, Alex, Clover, and Haruka, utilizing the 5-way calling that'd been installed a few weeks before.

"Nick! What just exploded in the sky?" Alex asked.

"The bomb," I replied simply.

"Oh," all 4 of them said in unison. "Did you find Scam?" Haruka asked.

"Yep. I sent him to WOOHP in one of my psychic holding cells. We don't have to worry about him now."

"Good," Clover replied. "Cause I am getting pretty sick of that freak always escaping!"

"Trust me, Clover, he won't be able to break out of _that_ hold for a while. Bridget and I will meet you back at our seats, okay?"

"Roger!" all 4 of them said before the transmission was cut.

"Okay, Bridget, let's get back to the game," I said to my emerald-haired friend, who switched out of Sonic Mode and back into her normal clothes. But, before she reached for her braids, I continued...

"Oh, and Bridget? Keep your hair down. I like it better that way."

Smiling brightly, Bridget stuffed the braids in her pocket and followed me back to the game.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(up in the booth with Bil and Zach)

Bil: Welcome back to "Extreme Dodgeball". The 2-0 Denver Hurlers are up 22-19 over the 0-4 L.A. Armed Response. You know, Denver captain, Tara Dakides and L.A. backup player, Mathew Vasconcellos share something in common: they're both off-road motorcycle riders. Earlier this week they spent some time off the dodgeball court and on the track. Our cameras were there to see it, and for that, we go "Beyond the ball".

(A/N: This segment is when the crew catch players with other players or what they do off the court, or whatever. So, enjoy this part, and it was before I went on the mission the first time out. It isn't mentioned in any of the chapters because I didn't know where to put it, and I never knew before a few weeks ago that Tara Dakides was a motocross rider.)

(Beyond the Ball segment -- Mathew's P.O.V.)

I was out at a local track with the girls, and Nick and they were all checking out my riding. I rode a new Honda CRF250R -- 4-stroke. While I rode, I actually was following Tara Dakides for a few minutes. She rode a 2003 Honda 125. I pulled up along side of her, and we began battling each other just for fun. After about 10 laps, I pulled off and joined the others, and then Tara had just pulled off, parked her bike, and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, man," She said to me as she took off her helmet.

"Hold on, aren't you Tara Dakides -- the snowboarder?" I asked.

I had told the others about Tara before I had gone out to ride.

"Yeah, why?" Tara asked me.

"I checked your website recently and I found out you were a former motocross rider!" I said.

"Why'd you decide to go from the dirt to the snow?"

"Well, I got badly injured, and I had a late night show appearance to go on, but that was postponed for some time," Tara said.

"Then after the show, I started becoming a tester for Honda Factory Connection back in '03. But, honestly, I went to the snowboarding because I was getting a little tired of the whole motocross gig and thought I might go back to a sport that I had done when I was a little girl."

"How's it feel to be back on a bike?" I asked her.

"It feels like I started riding all over again," Tara answered.

"How long have you been riding?" She asked me.

"Since I was 8," I answered.

"You know, you ride a little bit like me -- I stay away from the huge jumps, and only clear the little small and easy ones," Tara said to me.

"Really? Geez, I only ride for fun, but how's this, I was battling with like a 30-something year old girl who's a former rider, and I'm still a rider?" I said.

"Actually, I'm 33," Tara corrected me.

"18-year old against 33-year old," I joked.

We both started to laugh. Meanwhile, Sam was still standing with the others, but somehow knew that Tara was much older than I was, but with a smile still on her face that I had met a former rider.

"You're pretty hard to pass, man," Tara said to me.

"I know, thanks. Whenever I ride, I ride like 70 percent defensive, and 30 percent offensive," I said to her.

"Do it again?" Tara asked me.

"You're on," I said.

(later)

"He's a lot of fun to ride with -- kind of like a riding pal," Tara said when the cameras asked her what I'm like.

"The thing I'm gonna cherish most was this day that I actually got to ride with her. She's pretty cool -- but I've got a girl of my dreams already," I said when the cameras asked me about what I think about her.

(end of "Beyond the Ball", Mathew's P.O.V. and back to the booth.)

Bil: That was pretty good, wasn't it, Zach?

Zach: It was cool, Bil. I've never seen two motocross riders like make friends just like that, Bil. Michele, something good, please?

(down on the floor with Michele)

"I went to the L.A. locker room at the half and asked the team about their 3-point dephosit. They said that they'll have to try something new because during the 2nd quarter, they didn't feel like their normal dodgeball selves, except for Sebastien Sciotti, and Mathew 'MX Kid' Vasconcellos. We'll see if their new playing style will work, or will it make the game worse for L.A. Back to you, guys." Michele said.

(Back in the booth)

Bil: Thanks, Michele. Armed Response really has to pick it up, Zach.

Zach: They sure do, Bil. Let's go down and get this 3rd quarter started.

(down on the floor -- back to Mathew's P.O.V.)

"L.A., are you ready," Burns said to us.

We all gave him a cheer to let him know we were.

"Denver, are you ready?" Burns said, pointing to the other side of the court.

The Denver team did the same thing as us.

"On the whistle," Burns said. He held the whistle in his left hand, blew it, and the 3rd quarter had started.

There were the normal 2 small red and blue balls resting on the center line. In the opening rush, I grabbed the red ball, while Gary "Spaz" Davis grabbed the blue one. I threw the red ball at "Spaz" and he easily deflected it. Him and Danno Kingman loaded up for a simulthrow. They tossed both balls and instead of getting 2 kills, Denver only got one thanks to Kingman, who had took out Fenderbosch, while the blue ball, which was thrown by "Spaz" was caught by David Benedetto.

"Come on, L.A." Sam said, clenching her fists together.

My team played as hard and as best as we could. I ended up taking out Kelly Lovato with about 1:00 left to play, while David "The Animal" Bendetto did some work throwing down 5 extra kills to go along with his former total of 3 kills to wind up with 8 kills and a catch. Sebastien Sciotti and I continued to lead L.A. back -- although Sciotti only had 3 kills, he never gave up any spirit, which proved to be my motivation for this game. I, however, helped out with 4 extra kills and 2 catches.

Sciotti and I had both balls to get ready for a simulthrow.

"You got two, black," Burns said to us.

We threw both balls, and we both connected with a couple of Denver players: Sciotti on Bobby Roe, and me on Adrian Quihuis.

"I think they can do this," Bridget said to the others.

"Let's hope so," Haruka said. "

The buzzer sounded and the 3rd quarter was over. Armed Response started the quarter down by 3, but the Hurlers had maintained that 3 point lead they had from the start of the 2nd half. They couldn't take the lead, but the 3rd quarter was a little bit on the neutral side in terms of picking up or losing points. In other words, we didn't lose points to make their lead bigger, but we stayed close and latched onto them. The score was 36-33 in favor of Denver. We were tied in scores for the 3rd quarter at 14 each. Just then, Michele Merkin came out for another interview with both teams again.

"Standing here with L.A. co-captain David Benedetto and Denver celebrity captain Tara Dakides. 'Animal', the Armed Response is down by 3, did the new playing style work out for your team?" Michele asked him.

"I think so," David said to her.

"We just tried to aim for players right away, and we're gonna get these guys in the 4th."

Michele moved over to Dakides to get her insights.

"We're a 4th quarter team, and we're gonna have no problem winning against these guys again -- especially my riding buddy. We beat these guys once, we can do it again." Tara answered.

"Back to you, guys," Michele said, sending it back up to Bil and Zach in the booth.

(up in the booth.)

Bil: Thanks, Michele. Zach, Benedetto thinks L.A.'s new style worked. What do you think?

Zach: Bil, I think I have to agree with him. Even though L.A. is still down by 3, "The Animal" always plays like an animal. I'm especially impressed with Mathew "MX Kid" Vasconcellos.

Bil: We'll be right back with the 4th quarter -- dead man walking.

(Hope you all like this. We might finish this pretty soon.)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

(From **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Next time:

Log 10: Circumference Cycle

After a lot of in-stadium trouble, the 4th quarter is on! Can Mat and the Armed Response pull off a comeback and win their first game of the season? Or will the Denver Hurlers upstage L.A.?

See you in hyperdrive,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	10. Circumference Cycle

(All righty, folks! Here's chapter 10! I never thought we'd get THIS far though I said the exact same thing in chapter 6, but to me, 10 chapters is a milestone! Mat and I are planning to wrap this baby up soon, so for now, enjoy the next installment! BTW, don't worry about the weird chapter title; it's the best I could think of.)

Log 10: Circumference Cycle

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

As I sat down in my seat, I looked down to the court as the players began warming up for the 4th quarter. Mat was really giving it his all, despite his team being down by 3 in the final 6 minutes.

I looked around at my friends and smiled. Ever since I joined their branch in WOOHP, we've accomplished so much. We've stopped a bomb threat, took out a bunch of clones, and even saved Beverly Hills from destruction! That's a pretty good track record, if you ask me...

Then, my X-Powder rang. I quickly flipped it open and answered the call. "Bridget speaking."

"Bridget?" my mom, Maria Taylor, answered. "Is that you?"

"Mom? How'd you find this frequency?" I asked, surprised that my mother was calling me on my _X-Powder!_

"You gave it to me a few weeks ago, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," I said, suddenly remembering. "Is something wrong, mom?"

"It's your father! He's been attacked!"

Suddenly, it seemed as if time had stopped. "What? Who attacked him?"

This attracted the attention of the others. They all leaned over to check out the transmission.

"I don't know! But I need you over here!"

"Wait, Mom! I'm still at the stadium! The last quarter of the game is about to start!"

"Hey, Bridget, that gives me an idea!" Nick suddenly said. He raised his hand into the air, and a psychic energy orb flew out from his hand, effectively freezing time.

"How much time do we have until the next quarter starts?" I asked Sam.

"We've got at least 6 minutes," Sam answered.

"We'd better hurry up, then!" Haruka replied as we all hopped out of our seats. I quickly opened my X-Powder and switched into Sonic Mode.

"I'll meet you guys there!" I said to the others. With that, I shot off in an emerald streak.

"Man! I thought we were in the clear!" Alex exclaimed.

"It seems that misfortune just won't leave us the heck alone this week!" Clover complained.

"I know it sucks, Clover, but we're super-spies. We have to help anyone that's in trouble. That's our job, even if it does suck sometimes," Nick replied.

"I guess you're right," Clover said.

"Then let's do this, everyone!" Haruka exclaimed.

**Later, at Bridget's house...**

We'd all arrived at my house after about 4 minutes (thank god we live so close to the stadium!), even though time was still frozen.

Once we'd all gotten inside, Nick quickly unfroze time at just the right moment, as Dad's apparent attacker came flying down the steps. I took a quick look at the man and his masked face...

...and it hit me.

This was the same guy who'd killed my cousin!

"You!" I shouted. "I thought the police locked you up!"

"Not tightly enough, it would seem," the man replied. So he speaks now... "I'm here to finish the job! Your father's already down for the count, and your mother is next!"

"Why are you doing this?" Nick shouted. "Bridget and her family never did anything to you!"

"The mother of this girl," the man shouted, pointing to mom, "was the first one who'd ever caught me! Once I'd busted out, I figured, why not find this family and kill another loved one?"

I thought for a minute. Mom never told me that Grandma was on the police force! _That's a surprise..._

"You've done enough damage here! This is where your reign of terror ends!" Nick shouted.

"I'd like to see a bunch of kids stop me!" the man exclaimed before drawing his handgun and firing a few shots for us. As we dived out of the way, Nick shot a few psychic energy bursts towards him. I spun around to face Sam, Clover, and Alex.

"Sammy! You find dad and get him to WOOHP! Alex, Clover, you get my mom out of here before something happens to her! We'll take care of this guy!"

"On it!" all 3 said at once, splitting up to herd my parents out of the danger zone. I looked back at Nick and Haruka.

"Tag-team, guys?" I asked them.

"You're on!" they both replied.

All 3 of us took on an offensive stance as the man stood there, unsure of who to attack first.

"Let's hurry this tag-team up, guys! Only 10 minutes 'till the quarter starts!" Haruka exclaimed.

With that, Nick rushed forward and Haruka dashed to the man's backside. Giving him no time to react, Nick and Haruka both drove their elbows into the man's stomach, dazing him. I watched in amazement as they landed a few more attacks on this man in perfect synchronization.

After a few more attacks, they both performed a leaping spin kick that sent him over to me. I quickly grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled so that he was looking me straight in the eye. He actually looked scared of being faced down by someone nearly half his age!

"Do you realize the pain you caused my family when you killed my cousin?" I said with all the energy I could muster. He slowly shook his head. Nick and Haruka looked on, slightly worried.

"I loved Jeremy, and he _did not_ deserve to die like that!" I shouted. "You have no idea the world of pain you caused for us. And you simply have no idea what I'm about to do to you, do you?"

He slowly shook his head again.

"I thought so."

Wasting no time, I let go of his shirt collar, subsequently forcing the man stumbling backwards. Moving quickly, I brought out my castanets and clapped them towards the floor. The sonic disrupter wave allowed me to propel myself about 10 feet into the air. (Thank goodness we have high-rise ceilings!) I used my terminal velocity to aim an attack for the assailant.

It came so fast, he didn't even see it coming. One spin kick to the back of his head and he was out cold. I landed on the floor, putting away my castanets. I looked over to Nick and Haruka; they were a little surprised.

"Whoa, Bridget," Haruka said. "That was amazing!"

"It just goes to show you that _no one_ messes with my family and gets away with it."

Suddenly, my X-Powder rang. I flipped it open, and there stood Sam, Alex, and Clover. It looked like they were back at the stadium. "How are my parents doing, girls?"

"They're safe for now," Sam replied. "Your mom may need to stay here a week or two, but she'll be all right."

"We'll meet you guys back at the stadium, okay?" Alex said before giving a thumbs up and cutting the transmission. I looked over to Nick, who was smiling.

"Don't worry, Bridget, I'm one step ahead," he said to me. He thrust his hand into the air, using his psychic powers to freeze time once more.

"We're out of here!" Nick said before dashing out the door with Haruka in hot pursuit. I smiled a bit before following them.

**Back at the stadium...**

We were all seated down (and Nick unfroze time) as we all got ready for the start of the final quarter.

"Let's hope L.A. can pull this off," I said.

"Don't worry, Bridget. You heard them - the Hurlers are a 4th quarter type of team," Nick replied.

"I know that the Armed Response can pull it off."

(By **Mat49324**)

(up in the booth with Bil and Zach.)

Bil: Welcome back to "Extreme Dodgeball". It's time for the start of the fourth quarter. That means dead-man walking.

Zach: Now in the 4th quarter, each team must always have a dead man walking on the court. That player will be designated by wearing an orange headband. If your dead man gets out in any way, it's worth two points for the other team. When your dead-man walking does get out, he or she has to hand off their sweaty, disgusting, saturated headband to another player, who then becomes the new dead man walking, and so on, and so forth. So, let's get down to the floor for the start of the final quarter.

(Down on the floor.)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

"On the whistle," Burns said.

He blew the whistle and the opening rush for the 4th quarter had started. Bobby Roe had grabbed blue ball, and Kel Watrin had grabbed the red ball. It was time for L.A. to mount a comeback. The dead-men for the teams were Gary "Spaz" Davis for Denver, and for the Armed Response was David "The Animal" Benedetto.

"Come on, guys, I know we can do this," I said to my team.

Just a little ways after the start of the quarter, Danno Kingman threw a ball, and it somehow hit Benedetto, resulting in a two-point kill. Benedetto took off the headband and handed it off to me. I put it on, despite the fact that it was pretty sweaty.

"This is bad," Sam said.

"No kidding," Bridget agreed.

To make up for it, I decided to play up for awhile. I did a simulthrow with Sebastien Sciotti and I ended up hitting the dead man, "Spaz", resulting in a dead man kill for L.A. I did an extremely brief celebration by clenching my fists together. We started to get a little more relaxed and we started to play much better than before.

However, things got a little scary. After about a couple of minutes later, after Mario Lopez was the dead man after I got hit on the knee by Bobby Roe, I got back onto the floor after about 50 seconds of being on the bench. Mario put the headband on his arm, and there was a simulthrow being done, and the blue ball went into the Armed Response bench, meaning it was no longer active. There was another blue ball that was dropped onto the court. The refs determined that the 2nd blue ball was the new one, and also, Jim Burns tended to Mario about the headband.

"And you... should be on your head," Burns said to Mario.

"But it's been all sweaty," Mario said.

"I know, it's, it's awful," Burns said.

Mario did as Burns told him and put the headband on his head. A little later, just before the two-minute warning, the Armed Response was tied at 40, and I tried going for a catch on Adrian Quihuis' ball, but missed it. I ran to try to catch it, and just as I caught it, I was hit on the hip by Bobby Roe. Tempers flared a little, but the refs determined I did make the catch just before Bobby Roe hit me on the hip. Our relentlessness caused us to go up by 3, 44-41. Whistles blew and the clock had stopped at 2 minutes flat.

"What's going on?" Nick asked.

"I don't know," Haruka said.

The girls and Nick heard the refs say, "Two minute warning."

"Two minute warning?" Bridget said.

"What's that?"

"Who knows," Sam answered.

(up in the booth again.)

(A/N: Get your thoughts ready for your votes because it's coming up in a little while.)

Bil: That's the two-minute warning! Armed Response has taken the lead! Can they hold on to it?

Zach: They've been playing like a brand new team, Bil, and they're up by 3. I'm excited about seeing the final two minutes.

Bil: Don't you dare go away, we'll be right back with the final two minutes of the game! Stay where you are, and we'll be right back!

Zach: By the way, GSN and Burger King want you to have it your way by picking today's Burger King "King of the Court". Was it: 1. Sebastien Sciotti (10 kills, 1 catch), 2. Danno Kingman (5 kills, 4 catches), or 3. Mathew Vasconcellos (8 kills, 3 catches)? Select 1, 2, or 3 to the author of this story, but leave at least 10 votes from different reviewers.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Nick looked down at the courts as the players got ready for the "final rush", as he liked to call the last two minutes of a sports game; he could see them getting pumped and ready.

"Man, these final moments are ALWAYS so tense!" Bridget noted.

"And that's exactly what makes it so incredible when the home team comes back and gives the opposers what for," Nick replied. "Mom and I always enjoyed watching the 'final rush' at the arena football games they used to hold here."

"Hey, didn't they suspend that for a few months when the entire Milwaukee Mustangs team completely disappeared before their last game of the season?" Haruka asked in wonder.

(Author's Note: The Mustangs are really gone, people. My dad said something about the fact that the coach sold off the Mustangs. Really sucked, too, 'cause we went to a lot of their games! BTW, _finally_, a sport I can actually put in this!)

"Oh, YEAH! I can still remember that mission like it was yesterday!" Nick exclaimed, then toned his voice down low enough so no one could hear them as he recounted the time when a mysterious force made the entire Milwaukee Mustangs team disappear into thin air before their final game of the 2002 season against the Beverly Hills Bruisers (A/N: No idea if it's a real team or not, I haven't seen arena football in YEARS). Nick and Haruka had been put on the case because of the strange way they'd disappeared. After a whirlwind chase across North America, they'd found the culprit: a jaded ex-football player whose dreams of playing for the Mustangs had been shattered many years before by a much burlier player. The villain had used a powerful machine that could turn something into vapor and make it appear solid somewhere else. The catch? The Vapo-Randomizer, as its name implied, transported its target to a completely random place. After heading to Paris, saving the Mustangs, and destroying the Vapo-Randomizer, Nick and Haruka had been forced to play a freaked-up football game for their freedom. Luckily, Nick and Haruka, working together with the Mustangs, were able to defeat the criminal.

"Sheesh, I guess these old villains never get any less gimmicky," Clover replied.

"It's just a thing. That's the way WOOHP works," Haruka added.

"Hey, guys, it looks like the game's about to start again!" Sam exclaimed. This caught all 6 spies' attention, as they all looked down to the court.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Okay!

Next time:

Log 11: Roundabout Ruckus

It's the "final rush", and the Armed Response is up! Can they stay on top, or will the Hurlers make them regret it?

Ja ne,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger

(From **Mat49324** -- briefly)

Reviewers, be sure to leave your votes on who you think should be the Burger King "King of the Court". I'd like at least 5 votes for whomever you like. All those votes will be combined ex. 1 vote for Sebastien Sciotti 1 complete vote, 4 more left. All extra votes will be counted, so leave those votes -- and one more thing: You can only vote for _ONE _player. No one else.


	11. Roundabout Ruckus

(This is the next chapter of "Beyond the Looking Glass." We hope you like it.)

(Note from **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**: We are SO SORRY for the long wait. My computer has an ungodly habit of crapping out on me at the worst times. Here's the long-awaited...)

Chapter 11: Roundabout Ruckus

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Brief A/n: I forgot to mention what happens during the two-minute warning: when that happens, teams can replace anyone on the floor with any other player.)

(up in the booth)

Bil: Welcome back to Extreme Dodgeball. The Armed Response has fought back from as much as a 5-point deficit and have come back to take a 3-point lead, over the Denver Hurlers. Zach, in your run-of-the-mill life, have you ever seen such a comeback?

Zach: Never have in my life, Bil. With 2 minutes left, let's get back down to the floor and see how this one wraps up.

(down to the floor...)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

"On the whistle, guys, alright?" Burns said to us, holding the whistle.

He blew the whistle, and the clock resumed it's ticking down.

"This is it, guys," I said to my team.

Everyone on my team nodded their heads. They switched their dead-man from Kel Watrtin, to me once again. Denver switched from Adrian Quihuis, to Gary "Spaz" Davis yet again. After we took about 10 seconds, Burns gave Roe and Benedetto a 5-count.

"Alright, you both got 5 seconds," Burns said.

"Animal, throw the damn thing," I said to him.

I was hiding behind Tanya Fenderbosch for added protection and other various reasons. After Burns' 5-count reduced to 2, Benedetto finally let loose with the red ball he held. He just barely missed Roe, and Bobby barely missed Benedetto from his own throw at him. I had looked at both throws and sighed in relief when Roe's throw missed my teammate. But, things quickly got ultimately scary when Kelly Lovato made a catch on Kel Watrin's throw, pulling the Hurlers within two.

"That was big!!" Bridget screamed.

"Now what'll they do?" Haruka said, looking worried.

"Calm down, girls. I know they can do this," Nick said to them.

I decided to take a chance and play up for just one throw. Mandy Sommers, who had a ball, trusted me and gave it to me. Taking a big chance, I threw it, and it really paid off when I had hit the dead-man, "Spaz", resulting in a two-point play. Danno Kingman took the headband and all the girls and Nick were relieved.

"That was _too_ close!!" Sam said, clutching her chest.

"You said it," Clover said, clenching her fists.

"This is gonna be close," Nick said, crossing his fingers.

With just over a minute left to play, Danno Kingman threw a ball and it hit Tanya Fenderbosch on her knee. Good thing she was in front of me because if she wasn't, that would've been two points for Denver. I called Mandy (Sommers) over to protect me. I was doing the smart thing -- keeping myself protected.

"I can't take it anymore -- my stomach is too tight!!" Alex said, but she refused to leave her seat.

However, the lonely kill by Kingman was Denver's final point for the game. The score was 46-42, with only 10 seconds left. I decided to call off the protection and everyone on my team threw the balls in celebration for the last 5 seconds. The buzzer sounded. It was all over!! The Armed Response had won their first game of their 10-game season and 5,000 dollars. Everyone on L.A. was celebrating. I was too ecstatic, I was embracing both girls on my team and high-fiving all the guys.

(up in the booth)

Bil: That's it!! That's the game!! Armed Response has won their first game of the season. What a game, Zach!!

Zach: You said it, Bil. Armed Response, they fought back. They were down by as much as 5 points, and then look at this, they have won!!

Bil: They fought back indeed, Zach!! Michele, whaddya got for us?

(down on the floor)

"Armed Response has won for the first time this season. Sebastien Sciotti, 11 kills, 1 catch, how does it feel?" Michele asked, feeling excited for us.

"Man it feels so good," Sebastien said, looking pumped.

"We knew we needed a win -- badly, and then look at this, we finally got one."

Michele moved over to me.

"Now, we know Sebastien here had 11 kills and a catch, but you... you... 10 kills, 3 catches, 4 dead-man walking -- Mathew Vasconcellos, you're just a rookie -- fill-in I should say, and look at that, you just seriously helped your team out!!" she said to me.

"Yeah, thanks, Michele. It's been one of my lifelong dreams to actually play dodgeball, but it's not just me and Sebastien here that helped us with this win -- everyone on this team deserves some credit," I said.

"And, even today, I told myself that none of my teammates would expect much out of me, but I wanted to give them a good performance and a good impression. Let's do this, guys!! We're gonna rock the rest of the season!!"

"There you got it guys, a happy L.A. Armed Response team, back to you, guys!!" Michele said.

(up in the booth.)

Zach: Thanks, Michele. Huge win for Armed Response, and they earned their first share of the 5,000 dollars.

Bil: Yeah. You had it your way and here's who you selected as today's Burger King "King of the Court":

1. Sebastien Sciotti: 20, 2. Danno Kingman: 0, 3. Mathew Vasconcellos (me): 60

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"YES!!" all of the spies screamed, cheering for the Armed Response and their first win.

"See, Sammy, I TOLD you that Mat could pull it off!" Nick said to the redhead, giving her and Haruka a high-five.

"You think I _ever_ doubted my own boyfriend?" Sam replied.

"Did I ever say that?" Nick shot back playfully.

"Hey, where's Bridget?" Alex asked.

"She stepped out to get some air. She was really tense during those final plays," Haruka replied, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

_Meanwhile, outside the arena..._

Bridget sighed in relief. "Man, that's a relief. I'm SO glad that Mat and his teammates won the game."

Taking a walk around the outskirts of the arena, Bridget began recalling one of her past missions...

_Back in the arena..._

Suddenly, Haruka's X-Powder beeped. Out of curiosity, she opened it up. "Hmm... strange..."

"What is it, Haruka-chan?" Nick replied.

"My X-Powder's picking up a strange DNA reading somewhere outside the stadium," Haruka explained. "I'm extrapolating the code and translating the signal... now."

After a few seconds, a 13-year-old boy's profile popped up on Haruka's X-Powder screen.

"WHAT?" Haruka shouted; luckily, no one else in the stadium heard her shriek.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Sam asked.

"Look at this!" Haruka exclaimed, thrusting the X-Powder screen in front of the other spies. The name on the profile read _Jeremy Taylor._

_Outside the arena..._

Bridget was so lost in thought on her past missions, she didn't even notice the boy coming up to her until she slammed into him. Falling flat on her back, she quickly attempted to form an apology.

"Oh, my gosh, I'm SO sorry-"

Her apology stopped on a dime when she noticed the boy she'd slammed into.

"Oh, my god! _Jeremy?_"

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Bridget's P.O.V.)

I couldn't believe my eyes. Was my supposed-to-be-dead cousin, Jeremy standing right in front of me? I wasn't convinced. Maybe someone was trying to set me up.

"Jeremy, is it really you?" I said.

"Of course it's me," Jeremy said.

"Ain't you glad to see me?"

(Sam's P.O.V.)

Back in the stadium, I was standing with the rest of the girls and Nick. Mathew had told us he'd meet us back home.

"Haruka, are you sure that's what your X-powder's saying?" I asked.

"Why would you doubt something WOOHP makes?" Haruka said.

"If that's what it says, then it's 100 percent positive that I'm getting a reading from Jeremy somewhere in this stadium. The only question really is... Where is he?"

"I wonder if he's outside with Bridget?" Clover guessed.

"We better get there, guys," Nick said. "This might be another trick."

"Hel-lo, Nick, how can this be another trick when both Scam and Macker are locked in jail?" Clover said.

"You never know, Clover, there's a possibility that it is," Alex pointed out. "We've faced down crazier situations before..."

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Jeremy, _of course_ I'm glad to see you!" Bridget responded, rushing up and throwing her arms around Jeremy.

"How did you survive that, Jeremy? Everyone said that you died!"

Jeremy smiled. He had a feeling that Bridget would ask that.

"It's actually a long story, really," Jeremy explained. "A few days after--"

Jeremy's monologue was interrupted when Bridget threw her arms around him again.

"Oh, Jeremy... I'm just so glad you're alive!" Bridget replied, a few tears streaming out of her eyes.

"Could... could you take off your braids for me, Bridget?" Jeremy asked. "I never got a chance to see your hair down before I 'left'."

"Sure. Anything for you, Jeremy," Bridget said, reaching for her braids.

Once Bridget's hair was down, Jeremy was about to make a compliment on how cute Bridget looked, but was stopped by a mighty battle cry from afar...

...one that Bridget recognized!

Relying on instinct, Jeremy just barely dodged Nick's flying kick, stumbling back a few steps before bracing himself for Nick's next attack. Before Jeremy had supposedly 'died', he'd been taking karate classes, so he was able to counter Nick's attacks with some fancy moves of his own.

"What's your problem, kid?" Jeremy exclaimed while countering a spinning kick.

"I think you know what the problem is!" Nick shouted as the others arrived on the scene. Taking his chance, Nick hopped back and began charging up a psychic energy blast. Before he could fire it, however, Bridget rushed up and defended Jeremy.

"Nick, stop!" Bridget shouted. "Jeremy didn't do anything to you guys!"

"Get out of the way, Bridget!" Nick shot back. "This kid isn't what he seems!"

"And how can you prove that?" Bridget exclaimed.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Jeremy had taken a short sword from his pocket. Reacting fast, he thrust the sword towards Bridget...

(From **Mat49324**)

(Sam's P.O.V.)

I couldn't believe what we saw. Bridget's supposed-to-be-dead cousin was about to attack his own cousin.

"Let her go," Nick ordered.

"Oh, I don't think so," Jeremy snickered.

"Oh, shoot," I said.

"What's that, Sam?" Clover asked me.

"Nick took care of Scam, but _we all forgot about Macker_," I answered.

"I'm _SO_ embarrassed," Haruka said with a little frustration in her tone.

"Never mind, guys," Nick said to us. "We've gotta get our Bridget out of his grasp and FAST!"

"But what do we do?" Alex asked.

"We've gotta do something fast," I assumed.

"Sorry, girls, it was my mistake," Nick apologized. "Bridget and I were so caught up in stopping Scam's thing that we totally forgot about Macker."

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"You guys!" Bridget shouted, protecting who she thought was her cousin. "Don't treat Jeremy like this!"

"How can you even be sure that IS Jeremy, Bridget?" Nick shot back.

"He knew about my braids! That was our biggest secret! Even Macker couldn't figure THAT out!" Bridget defended, holding her arms out in Jeremy's defense.

Unfortunately, that lull gave 'Jeremy' the perfect opportunity.

It happened so fast that no one, especially Bridget, saw it coming.

Suddenly, all Bridget could feel was a sharp pain in her back. Jeremy had just driven the knife straight into the emerald-haired girl's back.

"Wha... Jeremy... why?" was all Bridget could get out, too drained by her sudden wound to say anything else. The other spies gasped in shock as Bridget dropped to the ground, completely unconscious and seriously wounded.

No one said anything for a short while, until Alex noticed that Nick was glowing red with immense psychic energies.

"You... you BASTARD!" Nick exclaimed, charging for 'Jeremy'.

Jeremy held up his knife and tried to stab Nick as well, but the raging boy would have none of it. Nick quickly slapped the weapon out of Jeremy's hand, and delivered a powerful uppercut, one that sent Jeremy flying.

Not showing any mercy, Nick continued the attack with a psychic energy burst that did considerable damage.

Suddenly, Haruka noticed Nick's rage-filled eyes. _Oh, no. I know that look,_ Haruka thought. The last time Nick's eyes had that look was the last time Nick's powers spiraled out of control. The last time it happened, well... things hadn't been pretty.

_I've got to stop him before he kills someone,_ Haruka realized.

Nick quickly continued the assault, giving 'Jeremy' no time to counterattack or even catch his breath. Nick was pounding into the boy quite severely, and that red aura was growing, and quickly turning a dark purple.

Soon enough, the clone of Bridget's cousin Jeremy was nothing but a ripped-apart pile of mechanical nuts and bolts on the ground. But Nick just wouldn't stop pounding into the clone's remains. That was when Haruka made it a point to step in and stop her rampaging best friend.

As the aura around Nick quickly turned black, Haruka grabbed Nick's left arm with both of hers, forcibly pulling her lifelong friend back from the remains of Jeremy's clone. "Nick! STOP! You remember what happened the last time you lost control?"

Nick suddenly stopped, looking at Haruka. Slowly, he settled down, and his psychic aura shifted back to its normal yellow color. Once the aura had dissipated, Nick threw his arms around Haruka and started crying. "Oh, Haruka... I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, Nick. It's okay," Haruka comforted, returning the embrace.

"I just don't want Bridget to die," Nick said.

"Then let's get to W.O.O.H.P.," Sam noted, picking up the unconscious Bridget. "If we hurry, I'm sure she'll make it."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Next time:

Chapter 12: Reckless Rush

Bridget sustained a severe wound during the last battle, and Nick and the gang are desperately trying to get to W.O.O.H.P. before it's too late to save the emerald-haired beauty. Unfortunately, Macker knows this, and has sent his best clones to stop the spies. Can they get past the clones and reach W.O.O.H.P. before time runs out for Bridget?

Ja ne,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	12. Reckless Rush

(Note from **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**: All right, everybody! Here's chapter 12 of Beyond the Looking Glass! Things are picking up again...)

Chapter 12: Reckless Rush

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

The entire group of WOOHP spies, save for Mat, was rushing a wounded Bridget towards WOOHP headquarters really fast. Unfortunately, the spy agency's center of operations was too far away from the stadium. Everyone was deathly afraid that Bridget wasn't going to make it.

"How much time do we have, Sammy?" Nick asked while keeping a lookout for WOOHP.

Sam, who was carrying Bridget, used her X-Powder as best she could to scan Bridget's vital signs. "It doesn't look too good, Nick. That knife hit dangerously close to her heart. If we'd waited one more second, Bridget probably wouldn't be here right now. Still, that knife did hit some necessary veins, and..."

"HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE, SAM?" Nick shouted, his patience officially at its limit.

Sam looked taken aback at Nick's sudden statement, but truth be told, she was just as worried about Bridget as he was, and she understood Nick's anxiety. "I'd say we have about 25 minutes to get Bridget to WOOHP before it's too late, provided we don't run into any..."

Sam's sentence was stopped short as Nick let out a yell; something had just smacked him in the face, causing him to fly backwards and crash to the ground.

"...distractions," Sam finished in frustration.

Nick looked up at what had just attacked him - it was another of Macker's clones, this one of Sam herself.

"We don't have time for the likes of you!" Nick shouted, charging up a psychic energy blast. The clone, however, easily backflipped over the blast. It seemed that this particular clone had acquired Sam's agility.

"Look, I'm really not in the mood for this! My friend is in critical condition here! Get OUT OF THE WAY, you stupid rip-off, or I'll MAKE you move!" Nick exclaimed.

"That's the idea," the clone responded before lashing out with a powerful spinning kick that was easily blocked.

"This is the last time I'm going to tell you! Get out of our way, _or else!_" Nick exclaimed, charging for the clone.

(From **Mat49324**)

(Haruka's P.O.V.)

We all knew that Mathew would meet us at home. He was out at a restaurant near the mall with his team in celebration for their first win of the season. I knew that calling him was not a smart option because his teammates might get suspicious if they saw him talking to his Game Boy Advance SP. We all knew that.

"So, what do we do now?" Alex asked.

"I've officially got nothing," I said.

"What about you, Sam?"

"Maybe we can make a call to W.O.O.H.P. for a plane to get Bridget there. Maybe it'll be faster than running," Sam suggested.

"It's a gamble we've gotta take," I said.

Nick in the meanwhile had just destroyed the Sam clone in a dazzling display. I was impressed, but I knew thoughts like that would have to wait.

"What's going on, girls?" he asked.

Sam had just made the call to Jerry to send a plane fast to get Bridget to W.O.O.H.P. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Jerry's W.O.O.H.P. plane had just landed near them.

"Spies, what's going on?" Jerry asked.

"And where's Mathew?"

"We'll tell you later. Jerry, we have a problem," Nick said.

"What?"

"A clone of Bridget's cousin Jeremy stabbed her in the back. I'm afraid she might not make it," Nick explained.

"Good heavens!!" Jerry cried.

He ordered us to board Bridget into the plane. There was still hope for Bridget to make it, despite the fact that Macker was still looking for us.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Nick walked up to Bridget, who seemed completely unconscious. It looked like she was losing energy fast.

"Bridget... please hold on..." was all Nick could say. For a brief moment, Bridget opened her eyes, looking at her childhood friend.

"Nick..." she said weakly.

"It's okay, Bridget. Save your energy. We're getting you to WOOHP. Everything's going to be all right," Nick pleaded to the emerald-haired beauty. She smiled and lay her head back down.

"How much longer, Jerry?" Nick asked, anxious as all get out. "I can't take anymore waiting!"

"Settle down, Nick," Jerry stated, calm as ever. "We're only a few minutes away from WOOHP."

Unfortunately, it was at that very moment that something slammed into the plane, knocking it severely off balance. Everyone struggled to stay on their feet, while Nick raced over to protect Bridget.

"What was that?" Jerry asked.

"Someone's attacking the plane!" Alex exclaimed, pointing out the window.

"Damn it. Why won't Macker and his stupid clones just leave us alone?" Nick exclaimed, heading to the open door and looking down at the ground. Indeed, it was yet another of Macker's clones, this one of Nick himself, and said clone was firing psychic energy bursts every which way.

"What the heck is that clone doing? How does THAT THING have psychic powers?" Alex asked.

"Remember, Alex, those clones are built from our DNA," Haruka explained. "That means a clone of Nick would still have his psychic powers."

"Well, I, for one, am not going to stand around and let this cheap knock-off stop us from saving my friend!" Nick shouted, running to the open door and firing a psychic energy burst of his own at his clone.

However, the clone dodged and fired another burst, and unfortunately, this one hit one of the engines of the plane.

Nick, reacting fast, spread his hands out, and quickly, the plane was covered in Nick's psychic hold.

"What just happened?" Jerry asked.

"I wish it was good news, Jerry," Nick explained, trying his best to concentrate his psychic powers on holding up the damaged plane. "That stupid clone that's firing on us just blasted one of our engines. We'd better get to WOOHP fast, because I don't think I can hold this plane up if that clone hits the other engine!"

Jerry nodded, and began piloting the plane towards WOOHP as quickly as he could.

Meanwhile, Haruka ran up to the door and looked down at her clone, holding a Wind Tunnel 9000 in her left hand, and a tricked-out laser lipstick in her right hand.

"Okay, let's see how you like this!" Haruka shouted, firing the laser lipstick. After she did, she fired the Wind Tunnel 9000, adding quite a bit of power to the blast.

Haruka smiled when her attack struck home, tearing through the clone's vital components and knocking it straight to the ground.

"Okay, Nick, I think I got him," Haruka replied, shutting off her gadgets.

However, no sooner had Haruka said that than another blast rocked the plane, almost causing the wounded Bridget to fall off of her resting place. Luckily, she didn't fall.

"Did that stupid clone get the other engine?" Nick asked, suddenly straining to keep his psychic hold on the damaged plane.

"I thought I took care of that thing!" Haruka exclaimed, running back to the door. Apparently, what was left of the clone had just enough energy to let off one last doozy of a psychic blast, one that had completely destroyed the other engine. How Nick was still keeping the crippled airplane up is beyond this author's comprehension.

Suddenly, a perfectly-working clone, this one of Jerry, flew via a grappling hook into the open plane, his sights clearly set on the out-of-commission Bridget.

"Oh, great, as if I don't have enough problems here! Girls, protect Bridget!" Nick exclaimed.

(From **Mat49324**)

(Sam's P.O.V.)

The girls and I did as Nick told us to, which was to protect Bridget. We did just that just in case the gurney Bridget rested on tipped over and fell to the floor. Jerry surprisingly enough, was able to maintain calm control of the plane, despite the fact that Nick's clone was constantly trying to destroy the W.O.O.H.P. plane.

"Oh geez, this is more worse than an earthquake!!" Alex exclaimed.

"No kidding," Haruka agreed.

Practically, none of us could really do anything but protect a severely wounded Bridget. All the swaying back and forth was starting to affect Bridget's stab wound. I noticed how much she was grimacing in pain. She wanted to help, but she was too weak to even move her feet!

"I've gotta give Nick a hand," I said.

"I can't stand anymore of this side-to-side swaying!"

"But if you do, Sam..." Haruka started to say.

"Never mind the consequences, Haruka," I said, trying my hardest to leave from the position I was in.

"Nick really needs help!!"

"No, I'll go up there," Haruka said to us.

"Well... alright," I said, not arguing at all with her.

Haruka left her position and I had to extend my body to the other side of the gurney to protect Bridget from falling off. One fall meant she was going to be dead in a matter of seconds.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

(Haruka's P.O.V.)

I was surprised that Jerry was able to stay calm in a situation like this. As I rushed over to help Nick, I looked back at Bridget. I could tell that she was in a world of pain with the plane rocking around like this. I silently prayed that the girls would be able to protect Bridget until we got to WOOHP.

"Why am I wasting my time with you losers?" Nick's clone responded, running straight for the wounded Bridget. However, he was quickly stopped by the real Nick, who had just used a huge amount of his remaining psychic powers to create a barrier that would keep the ship from falling. He must have expended a lot of energy knowing that one engine was badly damaged and the other was completely destroyed.

"YOU'RE the loser around here, you cheap knock-off! I'm not letting you touch Bridget!" Nick shouted as he started to do battle with his clone. Punches, kicks, and the occasional psychic energy blast went flying as the two went all-out.

I could only watch as Nick and his clone battled it out, wishing there was some way I could help out.

As Nick lashed out at his clone, I noticed the clone charging its psychic powers. I stood in a defensive stance, ready to help my lifelong friend out if his clone tried anything stupid.

All of a sudden, I heard shrieks from the others and a series of thuds. I looked behind me, and gasped in shock: no one was protecting Bridget. Nick's clone had just used his psychic powers to slam the others into the wall and dissipate our last defense for Bridget!

I noticed that when Sam had been knocked back, she'd dropped her Wind Tunnel 9000 onto Bridget's gurney. Before I could wonder why she'd done that, my train of thought was interrupted by Nick's increasing growls.

"You're NOT TOUCHING BRIDGET!" Nick shouted, charging again for his clone. However, he was easily slapped away, crashing into the side of the cockpit.

It looked like it was up to me. I stood ready, my fists in a battle stance. But Nick's clone simply ran around me, and believe me when I say that he was just as fast as Nick himself!

It looked like there wasn't any more hope for Bridget...

...but at that very moment, I could hear Nick's clone screaming. I turned around, and noticed that he was being blown backwards by something. It seemed to be... a gust of wind?

Whatever the case, I watched as Nick's clone was quickly blown backwards, and subsequently out of the plane by the strong wind blast. After a few seconds, I could hear the faint sound of a machine crashing on the ground. I looked around the plane for the source of the mysterious attack, until I found it...

...it was Bridget, holding Sam's Wind Tunnel 9000!!

"Hey... I may be close to done for... but that... doesn't mean I can't help..." Bridget said with all the energy she could muster.

It was at that moment that Nick recovered from the last attack, walking up and taking Bridget's free hand into his own.

"Thanks, Bridget. I owe you BIG," Nick said.

"You... can pay me back later..." Bridget replied, closing her eyes and falling asleep to preserve the little energy she had left.

"Jerry, are we at WOOHP yet?" Alex asked, getting to her feet along with the others.

"Finally. Prepare for landing," Jerry replied, maneuvering the plane towards the WOOHP landing pad.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

All right!

Next time:

Chapter 13: Anxious Arrival

The gang has finally made it to WOOHP. Can they save Bridget from a grim fate?

Ja ne,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	13. Anxious Arrival

(Quick note from **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**: Sorry if we're late for this chapter. Mat's been tangled up in college final exams, and I've been having to babysit my 4-year-old cousin all week while his mom's in surgery. It's been quite a hectic week for all. But, we've found some spare time, and with said spare time, we proudly present...)

Chapter 13: Anxious Arrival

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Sam's P.O.V.)

**10:08 p.m. -- W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters**

All of us, except for Mathew were gathered around Bridget while Jerry and W.O.O.H.P. tried their very hardest to save Bridget. If she died, then Mathew, me, Clover and Alex would've experienced the shortest-lived friendship in our lives -- less than a week. Nick and Haruka were the most worried.

"Guys, try to calm yourselves," I said to Nick and Haruka.

"Jerry and the others are trying their best to save Bridget."

"Aren't you worried, Sam?" Nick asked me.

"Of course I'm worried," I said.

"Why would I not be?"

"Sammy's right, you two," Alex agreed.

"We've just gotta hope that a miracle will happen."

"Yeah, just keep your pants on," Clover said.

I was right... Jerry and the rest of W.O.O.H.P. were trying their hardest to save Bridget. Another thing that was also going to be short-lived was Bridget's amount of time as a member of W.O.O.H.P. -- assuming that Bridget was going to die.

"Guys, all we can do is just keep our optimism up on Bridget coming back to us," I reminded everyone.

"Sam's right," Haruka agreed.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Say, Nick, I don't think you ever told us the full story. How _did_ you meet Bridget?" Haruka asked. "Maybe telling some stories will help us calm down a bit."

"Good idea, Haruka," Nick replied. "It wasn't too long ago, actually. It was a few weeks after I'd arrived here, and everyone was getting registered for the new year..."

(begin Nick's flashback)

_A new school year was about to start, and Nick was excited about his first school year in America. He'd taken a few language classes over the summer, and he'd almost mastered talking in English, though there were still some words he didn't understand. He hoped his best friend Haruka, who had come with him on his trip, hadn't gotten lost in the immense crowd._

_As he waded through the rather large crowd that was wrestling its way through the doors of Beverly Hills Junior High, he suddenly bumped into someone. He looked at the person, and nearly lost his breath; it was a 12-year-old girl with pure emerald eyes and bright emerald hair to match (held up in braids, natch), looking absolutely cute where she stood._

_He'd never seen anyone so cute before; not even his old girlfriend from Japan..._

"_Oh, sorry," Nick quickly apologized. "I'm new around here, and..."_

"_Oh, it's okay," the emerald-haired girl replied, waving her hand, before she got a good look at the boy standing in front of her. "Hey, aren't you that new exchange student I heard about? You're from Japan, aren't you?"_

"_Yeah, I guess I am," Nick replied, a little embarrassed._

"_What's it like over there?" the girl asked._

"_It's kinda like it is over here," Nick answered, "only a _lot_ more crowded."_

"_I think you're going to like it here," the girl noted. "The junior high is an awesome place."_

"_Say, what's your name? We've been talking for so long that I forgot to ask your name," Nick asked, suddenly remembering._

"_Bridget. My name's Bridget Taylor," the emerald-haired cutie replied._

"_Well, it's nice to meet you, Bridget," Nick stated. "Come on, I think they're finally opening the doors!"_

(end Nick's flashback)

"True to her word, I had a great time at my first year. It seemed like she knew the school up and down," Nick explained, finishing up his tale.

"Wow," Sam replied. "You really took a liking to her, huh?"

"Yeah. You can imagine how sad I was when I found out she had to leave. I'm just glad she came back," Nick continued. "I'm trying my best not to freak out worrying about her right now..."

"Hey, we're _all_ worried about Bridget," Alex noted, walking up and wrapping her arms around Nick. "We're all praying for her."

"Thanks, everybody. That means a lot to me," Nick replied.

Just then, Jerry walked out from the room where Bridget was. You could tell that everyone was tense.

"Well, Jerry? Is Bridget going to be okay?"

(Written **Mat49324**)

(Haruka's P.O.V.)

"She's going to be just fine," Jerry announced.

"What a relief!" I said, clutching my chest.

"Does she have to stay here, Jer?" Sam asked.

"Yes, she does, Sam," Jerry explained.

"At the most 2-4 days, tops."

"2-4 days, huh?" Clover said.

"Things are gonna be awfully different for that amount of time," Alex said.

"By the way, super spies," Jerry said, trying to bring up what he asked earlier.

"Where exactly is Mathew?"

"He's out with his dodgeball team in celebration of their first win of the 'Extreme Dodgeball' season," Sam said.

"Dodgeball team?" Jerry asked.

"Yep, him and his team won their first match a few hours ago," I added.

"We were there," Alex inquired.

"None of you called him, did you?" Jerry asked us.

"Nope, but we were _considering_ calling him," I answered.

"That was a smart move to not call him, girls -- and Nick," Jerry said, feeling proud of us.

(Switch to my P.O.V.)

We were out at a nearby restaurant in celebration of our first win of the season. The rest of my team was pretty much mind-boggled about how I did out at the stadium. The only one who was a little mind-boggled, but pretty much impressed was Tanya (Fenderbosch).

"How'd you get to be so good in just your rookie match?" Mandy (Sommers) asked me.

"Well, let's just put it this way," I started to say.

"I've been watching you guys since day one of season three, and nothing but bad luck and maybe bad karma has happened ever since that first match when you guys lost to Denver -- then when it looked like more dark clouds would continue rousing over you guys, I step in to fill in for your injured dude, and I tell myself 'okay, I've gotta give them what they wanna see.' -- that's pretty much it."

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"I'm just glad we got Bridget over here before Macker's clones took that plane out of commission. I'm surprised we got there in time," Nick noted, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Bridget is going to have to stay here for a few days, but otherwise, she should be fine," Jerry explained.

"I wouldn't be worrying about the health of your little friend," a new, menacing voice resounded throughout the hallway. "I'd be more worried about which one of you is going to die first!"

Everyone quickly turned around to spot yet another clone - this one of Jerry. This time, it wasn't alone - Macker was standing next to said clone.

"Well, well, Macker. We meet again," Nick said to Macker. "And I'm willing to bet that this is going to be the last time."

"It will be the last time for one of us," Macker sneered.

"We've officially had enough of you AND your cheap knock-offs, Macker!" Haruka shouted, stepping beside Nick and shifting into fighting stance, the other spies doing the same. "We're ending this here and now!"

"I wouldn't call my 'knock-offs' cheap," Macker shot back. "I have now outfitted them with incredible new shield technology! You cannot even scratch them with your pathetic psychic powers now!"

"Oh, yeah? Wanna bet?" Nick replied, charging for the Jerry clone. However, said clone easily backflipped over Nick's attack. As the clone flew through the air, Nick launched a psychic energy burst for the clone, only to have it absorbed by some mysterious barrier-type system.

"What the...?" Nick exclaimed.

"I told you, your psychic attacks are useless! My new clone can absorb any form of your psychic energy. There's no way you can win!" Macker replied.

Nick looked back while dodging various attacks from the Jerry clone. It seemed that Macker was right. Every type of psychic attack he threw at the clone was easily absorbed. It didn't seem like he could win.

Unless...

"Haruka! Can you keep the knock-off busy? I need to charge up for that new technique you taught me the other day!" Nick shouted to Haruka.

"Technique? What... _oh._ Got it!" Haruka replied, signifying she understood. Saying nothing more, Haruka began lashing out at the Jerry clone, while Nick landed on solid ground and began concentrating, his usually gold psychic aura slowly turning emerald green.

Macker simply sneered. "He doesn't get it. His psychic powers will do nothing!"

The Jerry clone threw a fierce left hook for Haruka, which was easily parried. Haruka quickly countered with a spinning whirlwind kick, followed up by a rushing uppercut. The clone quickly flipped back onto its feet and retaliated with a lunging chest attack. Haruka easily stopped it, and rather handily tossed the Jerry clone far away from her.

Nick was watching the whole fight go down while still charging up his technique. "Come on, Haruka, just a little longer..."

Haruka seemed to share Nick's sentiment, quickening her attack so Nick could use his new move to send this lame knock-off to the scrap heap.

As the Jerry clone charged, Haruka dropped to the floor and shot her foot straight into the clone's chest, causing it to go flying. Once the clone had slammed into the floor, she noticed the room filling with a bright green light, evidently signifying that Nick had just finished charging his attack. Noticing this, she decided to step aside.

"Okay, clone boy. Are you ready for my new finishing move?" Nick exclaimed, a fluorescent green ball of energy resting in his left hand.

"Are you blind? Your psychic hooey will not work on my new clone model!" Macker shot back.

"It's not psychically charged, if you'd pay attention," Haruka explained. "I've been teaching Nick how to channel his OWN energy into a new finishing move. If you charge enough energy, it has the potential to be a one-shot finisher. That said, we decided to call it..."

"_FINAL SHINE ATTACK!!"_ Nick finished up for Haruka, thrusting his left hand out and firing an immense green energy beam straight for the Jerry clone. Said clone instantly put up its energy-absorbing barrier.

Unfortunately for the clone, the energy it was trying to absorb was too much for its system. Nick's Final Shine Attack rather handily destroyed the barrier and slammed straight into the clone, completely obliterating it. Once the massive blast had settled, Macker looked on in pure shock.

"No... how is that possible?" Macker screamed. "I created that energy absorption system perfectly! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?"

"Weren't you listening to Haruka? My Final Shine Attack isn't psychic. I collected some of my OWN energy to use that move. You'd better watch yourself, Macker..." Nick shot back, charging up another Final Shine Attack. "...cause you're next!"

That was all it took for Macker to retreat to god knew where.

"Come on, spies! We have to go after him!" Nick shouted.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Sam's P.O.V.)

"No need to, spies," Jerry spoke up.

"W.O.O.H.P. will take care of him. You've all been through a lot, I think you should be given a vacation after this."

"Thank goodness!" Clover said.

"If we had to stop him one more time, I would've definitely left myself spent when it was all over."

"I'm kind of spent myself," Haruka spoke up.

"Mm-hmm," I agreed.

"What about Mathew, Jerry?"

"He's a part of us now, so he gets the vacation along with the rest of you," Jerry said.

I was relieved. If my own boyfriend was sent on a mission on his own, I didn't think he'd get through the whole thing without a little help from me.

"So, I guess we should head back home," I said.

Jerry pressed a button and we were all sent back to our house.

**9:59 p.m. -- Our House**

When we got home, Mathew was not around. Two people were missing from our group: Bridget, who was still resting at W.O.O.H.P., and Mathew, who was probably still out with his team.

"This is weird," I said.

"Mathew's still not home."

"Maybe he's still out with his team?" Nick assumed.

"Yeah, hope so," I said as I took out my X-powder from one of the pockets of my jumpsuit.

I pressed some buttons and ended up switching outfits from my green jumpsuit to my green one-piece bathing suit.

"Anyone up for a relaxing dip outside?" I asked.

"After all of that, count me in," Alex said as she switched outfits as well.

Clover, Haruka and Nick switched their outfits and joined me and Alex for a dip in the jacuzzi outside.

(switch to my P.O.V.)

I was still out with my team... well, sort of. I was actually at a teammate's house. I was actually in the home of Tanya Fenderbosch.

"So, how come you asked me if I wanted to come to your place?" I asked Tanya.

"Just to chat," Tanya said to me.

I looked at her house, and it was pretty. She had a pool in her back yard, plus a surfboard because I found out when we were out in celebration, she was a flight attendant who surfs. I heard my SP ring.

"Could you excuse me for a few minutes?" I asked.

"Sure," Tanya agreed.

I had to use the bathroom anyway, so I went upstairs to where the bathroom was and I answered my call.

"Hello?" I said.

"Mathew," Sam said over the line.

"Sam?" I said.

"Where the heck are you?" Sam asked me.

"I'm actually at one of my teammates' houses," I answered.

"Don't worry, I'll come home tonight -- I asked her if she could drop me off when I feel like I should go."

"Okay, just checking," Sam said.

"We're already home -- except for Bridget."

"What happened?" I asked.

"We'll fill you in when you come home," Sam said to me.

"Okay," I said as we both hung up.

I stepped out of the bathroom to rejoin Tanya. Don't worry, we weren't seeing each other, she just wanted to chat with me... privately I guess. After it got close to 10:30, I told her I should really get home. She agreed and drove me home. I thanked her for the drive and stepped inside the house.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Wow," was all Mat could say after Nick had explained everything that had gone down since the game. "I hope Bridget's going to be okay..."

"Hey, don't worry, Mat. Jerry said that Bridget's going to be just fine," Nick reassured. "All she needs is some rest. Great job in the game, by the way. You guys just kicked the Hurlers' butts up and down that court!"

"Oh, stop it. We _all_ played a great game out there," Mat replied.

**2:49 A.M., Outside Beverly Hills Villa**

Outside the villa, a Japanese girl of about 16 with short, golden-blond hair tied into two spiky ponytails, and wearing her Umi no Hoshi High School uniform, took a good look at the villa that stood before her.

"Is this the one?" she asked herself. "I heard this is where he lives now. I just hope he's here..."

Letting the cool night breeze flutter her ponytails, she walked up to the villa's door and softly knocked on it.

_Inside the villa, Nick and Haruka's room..._

Nick had been having a bit of trouble getting to sleep, being so worried about Bridget. So, he was the only one who heard the knocking on the villa's door.

"Uh... who could it be at this time of night?" he sleepily asked himself, until... he slowly woke up. "What if it's a trap by those baddies? Wait. Both Macker and Scam are locked up tight at WOOHP. Still, I'd better be careful. You never know..."

Slowly, Nick inched his way down the stairs, psychic energy covering his right hand. As he reached for the door, he looked out the window, noticing a silhouette that seemed sorta familiar...

Reaching for the doorknob, he slowly opened the door, readying his free hand just in case.

"Hello?" the girl softly said, only to be met with Nick's psychically-glowing hand.

"Whoa, whoa, hey! Is that any way to say 'hi' to an old friend?" the girl asked frantically.

That caused Nick to lower his hand, the psychic energy dissipating as he took in the features of the girl standing before him. When he finally recognized the girl, he gasped in complete surprise.

"Oh... my... god. _Nozomi?_"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Next time:

Chapter 14: Power Performance

Nick's old girlfriend Nozomi Itou has come to Beverly Hills to see Nick again. Meanwhile, a shady new criminal is lurking in the shadows, just waiting to make a move...

Ja ne,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	14. Powerful Performance

(Okay, here we go! Chapter 14 has arrived! BTW, I've got a good chunk of the rest of the story in the planning stages, and let me tell you, things are going to get interesting come the next few chapters! Enjoy!)

Chapter 14: Power Performance

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Oh, my god! Nozomi!" Nick practically shouted (lucky they were outside and the others were sound asleep), rushing up and throwing his arms around his old girlfriend from Japan. "I missed you!"

"Not half as much as I missed you, Nick. Now, can you let go of me?" Nozomi replied, gasping for breath.

"Oh, sorry," Nick quickly said, releasing Nozomi. "How'd you get here, Nozomi?"

"Transfer program. I arrived here a few weeks ago. I was worried because I haven't seen you for a few years," Nozomi explained. "Why didn't you at least call me?"

"I was caught up in some things..." Nick reluctantly said, thinking that he shouldn't tell Nozomi about WOOHP and all the adventures he'd been in just yet. Unfortunately, Nozomi would have none of it.

"Why don't I believe that? Nick, I was your girlfriend since the 4th grade. I can tell when you're lying," Nozomi teased, playfully jabbing Nick in the chest.

Nick sighed. It seemed there was no way he was getting out of this one.

Suddenly, Nozomi's face turned soft. "Nick? Lover or not anymore, I'm still your friend. I always will be. You can let me in on anything that's troubling you. I won't tell a soul."

Nick sighed again. This would take a while. "I hope you're not sleepy yet, Nozomi-chan."

"That's okay. I have tons of time. Me and my family just got back from a little vacation. I couldn't sleep anyway," Nozomi explained.

"Okay, then. Come inside with me. Have I got a story to tell you," Nick replied, leading Nozomi inside the villa.

**5:37 AM, Beverly Hills Villa**

Nick and Nozomi were now sitting on the couch in the living room. A good few hours had passed while Nick was telling his tales. As the sun slowly began its ascent, Nick had finally told Nozomi what had happened to Bridget.

"I'm just glad she'll be all right," Nozomi said softly. "That must have been terrible for her."

"Don't worry about it. Macker's locked up tight now, and WOOHP's going to make sure he stays there," Nick replied.

All of a sudden, both of them heard a yawn coming from upstairs.

"Who's that?" Nozomi started, surprised and a little scared.

"Don't freak out, Nozomi. That's just Sam. She always wakes up early. Come on, I'll introduce you to her," Nick replied, taking Nozomi's hand and leading her upstairs.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Sam's P.O.V.)

I was inside of the bathroom at the sink. I was still wearing my light blue knee-length and buttoned pajamas. The water from the sink was still running, even after three whole minutes.

"Man, what a night last night," I said to myself as I cupped my hands together.

"We stopped Tim Scam from trading one of us for Alex, we go to Mathew's dodgeball match -- more stuff happens, Macker makes more clones, Scam sets about 2 or 3 bombs, but we stop them, and now Bridget is wounded... badly and she's gotta recover at W.O.O.H.P. for a couple days."

I didn't forget that we were one member short on those last two parts of that grueling mission: my own boyfriend. But at least it was reasonable since Mathew was out with his team, plus calling him up on his SP wasn't a great idea, even if we didn't call him at all. I placed my cupped hands under the cold water and washed my face and my eyes. Nothing felt better than a good wash of the face. I wiped my face with a towel.

"Maybe I should wash my hair as well," I said as I went back to my room to get my X-powder.

I didn't notice Nick walking up the stairs.

"Nick?" I said.

"What are you doing up so early? Normally, I'm the only one who's up this early, and who's the girl next to you?"

"I heard a knock at the door about just after 2:30 this morning," Nick answered.

"So, I answered it myself, and this girl right beside me is my old girlfriend from Japan, Nozomi Itou."

"Hi there," I greeted.

"Nozomi, this is Sam," Nick said, doing the introduction for me.

"Nice to meet you, Sam," Nozomi said back to me.

"Is it just you and Nick who lives here?"

"No, not just us two," I answered.

"My other three girlfriends and my boyfriend live here, too; They're still asleep after a hectic two or three days and nights."

"So I heard," Nozomi said to me.

I was puzzled.

"Nick filled me in on the story," Nozomi continued.

"Don't worry, Sam," Nick assured me.

"I told her not to tell anyone, and she said that she wouldn't; she even gave me her word."

I felt relieved after that.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," I said in my sweetest tone.

"I'm gonna wash my hair."

I walked to my room, so as not to wake up Mathew, or even the rest of the girls. I grabbed my X-powder, put it in my pocket and walked back to the bathroom. I closed the door, locking it so nobody would be able to open it like how I accidentally left the door unlocked that time Clover's TV crews for that dumb show she signed us up for without any word to us, shot me naked for about a couple of seconds.

I took out my X-powder from my pocket, pressed one of the buttons, and my sleepclothes vanished from my body. I turned on the water in the shower and stepped in. After just two minutes, I finished, stepped out, and used my hairbrush and the hair dryer to tend to my hair. It was almost 6:30 in the morning when I finished. I looked outside the bathroom window and the sun had just rose into the sky. The skies were crystal clear, with only a few clouds in the sky.

"Maybe I'll go for a morning swim myself," I said to myself.

I used my X-powder one more time, which left me in my one-piece green bathing suit that showed my hips. I took a beach towel and walked outside to the swimming pool. I had happened to pass by Nick and Nozomi again.

"Morning swim, Sam?" Nick asked me.

"Mm-hmm," I answered.

"You two wanna join?"

"In a little while," Nozomi said to me.

"Nick, did you tell Nozomi we had a pool and jacuzzi outside?" I asked.

"Yep," Nick answered.

"Okay," I said, turning to Nozomi.

"Did you bring your bathing suit, Nozomi?" I asked.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Yeah, I just have to get it first," Nozomi replied, walking back into the living room to retrieve her swimsuit.

Suddenly, Sam got a little curious. "Nick? Are you _completely _sure that's your girlfriend? It could be a trap..."

Nick laughed a bit. "You need to chill, Sammy. I scanned her with my X-Powder while we were talking just in case. That's my real ex-girlfriend right there."

"It's okay. I'm just a bit on-guard since everything's been happening," Sam replied.

"So, what's Nozomi like?" Sam asked, now genuinely interested.

"Oh, she's incredible. Aside from Alex and you guys, she's probably the nicest girl you'd ever find. I noticed something before I left for America: once she's set her mind to something, no one can stop her!"

"You think she'd be ready for WOOHP?" Sam asked out of curiosity.

"Let's wait a bit on that. Things have been quiet lately ever since we took care of Macker," Nick noted, looking out the nearby window. "In the long run, however, I'm sure she'd be ready to help us out at WOOHP. You should see her karate, Sammy. She took me down like it was no problem!"

"You fought each other?" Sam asked, a little concerned.

"Don't flip out, Sammy. It was just a friendly sparring match..." Nick replied, laughing a bit and remembering that explosive match, a few days before he'd been chosen for the exchange program...

(begin flashback)

_Nick and Nozomi took their places in the sparring circle. It was gym class again, and the couple was ready to show off their moves._

"_In this circle, we have Kellysi Nicolas and Itou Nozomi," their gym teacher announced to the class, the remains of which were seated in a circle a good distance from the sparring center._

"_Give us a good fight, you two," the teacher stated to the couple._

"_We will, Kayami-sensei," Nick replied before turning to his girlfriend and sparring partner._

"_You don't have to hold back because of me, Nozomi-chan," Nick stated to Nozomi._

"_Oh, don't worry, Kellysi-chan. I have no intention of holding back," Nozomi replied, stating that she meant business._

"_Ready... BEGIN!" Kayami shouted, and the match was on._

_Nick was the first to act, charging for Nozomi with blinding speed._

_Nozomi was ready, however, and dodged around Nick's punch, countering with a leg sweep of her own._

_Nick caught Nozomi's flying foot, and thusly spun her in the opposite direction. Nozomi landed on her feet rather easily, with minimal damage. Taking her chance, she charged forward, lashing out with a flying scissor kick that nearly slammed Nick into the hardwood floor. However, he was able to catch himself before receiving any serious damage, flipping to his feet and striking back with a one-two punch combo, followed by a painful-looking uppercut._

_Nozomi staggered back from the force of Nick's counterattack, but was able to stay in the sparring circle. Wiping the sweat off of her head, she braced herself for Nick's next attack, a flying two-fisted punch. Thanks to her quick drop into Mamori (Safeguard) stance, Nozomi was able to shrug off Nick's attack._

'_I don't know how much longer I can take this,' Nozomi thought to herself, staying in Mamori stance to block Nick's merciless attacks. 'I have to find a way to get through his own guard...'_

_Suddenly, an idea formed in Nozomi's head as Nick unleashed his Bakuretsu Handou (Explosive Kick), a swift and powerful move that had broken Nozomi's Mamori stance countless sparring matches before. Nozomi steadied herself as the attack came._

_At the very last possible second, Nozomi fired an upwards kick that knocked Nick's speeding left foot off balance, giving Nozomi the time she needed to counterattack with a piercing uppercut, followed by an elbow jab, and finishing the job with a massive aerial spin kick that sent Nick flying out of the circle. Kayami-sensei rushed into the arena, bringing about the end of the sparring match._

"_The winner is Itou Nozomi!" Kayami-sensei exclaimed as Nozomi helped Nick up._

"_Wow, Nozomi-chan. You're getting better," Nick stated, rubbing the spots where he'd been attacked. "I never thought the Bakuretsu Handou could actually be countered."_

"_How many times did you use that attack on me while I was Safeguarding, Nick?" Nozomi replied, giggling slightly. "Besides, you were the one who unknowingly left your flying foot open for a serious hurt, you know!"_

_They laughed for a while, letting themselves soak in the fight they'd just performed..._

(end flashback)

"She just got better and better every day," Nick recounted, finishing his tale. "God knows how much more she trained since I left..."

"Okay, guys, I'm ready to swim!" Nozomi's voice rang out.

Nick looked back at Nozomi - she was decked out in a white two-piece swimsuit covered in random red, yellow, and green flowers.

"Wow. You look nice, Nozomi," Sam noted.

"Thanks. I stay in pretty good shape thanks to my karate training," Nozomi replied.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Sam's P.O.V.)

Nozomi and I waited for Nick to change to his swimshorts. It was just before 7 a.m. when the three of us stepped outside. I knew that Haruka, Clover, Mathew and Alex were still asleep from that hectic day we had last night and yesterday. I was tired myself, but I thought that a nice, brisk morning swim would help me and Nick unwind from last night.

"Say, Sam, is it?" Nozomi said to me.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Didn't you say you had a boyfriend?" Nozomi asked me.

"Yeah, his name's Mathew," I responded.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," Nozomi answered.

"Don't you have a boyfriend of your own, after Nick broke up with you?" I asked.

"Nope," Nozomi answered. "I'd never betray Nick like that. It's just not in my nature."

The early morning swim was what Nick and I really needed after a hectic day yesterday. First, Tim Scam attempted to trade one of us for Alex, then he sets about three bombs in the stadium that we were all in to watch Mathew's first Extreme Dodgeball match, then Macker the Safecracker creates clones of all of us -- well, at least me, Nick and Jerry while a clone of Bridget's supposed-to-be-dead brother stabs her in the back, but fortunately, she'll make it... I hope she does...

"I'm still a little worried about Bridget," I said to Nick while I continued to swim.

"Don't worry about it, Sam," Nick said to me.

"Bridget will make it... you just watch. Jerry said after a couple days, she'll be out of W.O.O.H.P. care for her injury, and back with us."

I hoped Nick was right.

(switch to Haruka's P.O.V.)

I was still lying in bed, exhausted from last night. I heard some splashing outside. I looked outside the window to the pool and saw Sam, Nick and another girl swimming in the pool.

"Wait a minute," I said to myself.

"I know that girl somewhere!"

Just in case, I bailed out of bed, out of my clothes, into my azure one-piece swimsuit and dashed outside to see for myself.

"Oh, Haruka, you're awake," Sam said to me.

"Yep," I said, folding my arms.

Before I could say one syllable to Nick, he beat me to what I was gonna say, telling me about Nozomi Itou, his ex-girlfriend.

"I knew you looked familiar," I said to her.

"Yeah, Nick told me about you before he left," Nozomi said to me.

"When was the last time I saw you?" I asked.

"I don't know," Nozomi responded.

"Haruka, you coming in?" Sam asked me.

Then again, I _was_ decked out in my bathing suit, so I jumped in. The water felt refreshing. Little did I know that the three of them had been swimming since at least 7 a.m.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

**Meanwhile, somewhere deep in the alleys of downtown...**

A mysterious figure, almost completely covered in black robes, could be seen walking around a very high-tech hideout, messing with various pieces of technology, turning a few dials and fixing some coordinates. A monitor to the right of the mysterious man showed Nick, Sam, and Nozomi swimming without a care in the world.

"There are three of them there, but my primary concern should be the boy and his ex-lover," the mystery figure noted to himself. As soon as he finished saying that, who else but Tim Scam should walk up, holding a mysteriously-shaped key.

"Master Grendor, I have the WOOHP key as you specified. What should I do with it?" Scam asked.

"While I'm taking care of those brats, I want you to go to that spy organization and free as many villains as you possibly can. I want my 'army' to be at full strength before we proceed with the final plan," Grendor replied.

"Yes, sir," Scam replied, walking away.

"Now those two fools will feel the pain I felt while I was locked up in that godforsaken prison," Grendor said to himself. He began laughing maniacally.

**Back at the spies' villa...**

Nick watched Nozomi dart about the swimming pool like a bullet. She wasn't kidding about getting all that exercise from her karate training.

"Hey, Nick?" Sam asked out of curiosity. "You're not mad at Nozomi for breaking up with you, are you?"

"Of course not," Nick replied. "She completely understood why I had to leave her. She's a total sweetie."

"Alex would probably love her," Sam noted.

"Say, Nick?" Nozomi asked, curious about something Nick told her. "You told me you have psychic powers, but I've never seen you use them. Could you show me a few techniques?"

"I'd be delighted, Nozomi-chan," Nick replied, concentrating and focusing his psychic powers. Before long, he was covered in a soft yellow glow, rising out of the water, being carried by his psychic powers.

"This..." Nick explained, "...is the _bukujutsu _technique."

Sam was about to ask what Nick what he meant, when Nozomi beat her to it. "The air dance, right?"

"Got it. Of course, not all my psychic techniques are defensive. I'd show you an offensive move if I just had a target..." Nick explained.

"How about this?" Sam replied, holding a mysterious piece of machinery. "I swiped this from what was left of that clone you destroyed with that shining attack thingy..."

"PERFECT! Sammy, toss that thing as high as you can!" Nick exclaimed, focusing his psychic power into a fluorescent green sphere in his hand. Sam, with a good chunk of her strength, tossed the piece of circuitry way high into the air.

"Now! _FINAL SHINE ATTACK!!_" Nick shouted, thrusting his left hand into the air and firing the show-stopping special attack he'd used before. The fluorescent green beam completely obliterated the rogue piece of mechanics.

Nozomi was applauding quite loudly. "Wow! That was incredible!"

"Hey, I do what I can," Nick replied.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the trio, Grendor was floating high above the villa, a mysterious dark energy resting in his hands.

"I can see more people inside this house. That just makes it better for me. I can take out more of their friends," Grendor said to himself, his hands glowing an eerie shade of purple.

Back in the swimming pool, Nick was explaining the mission where he'd received his psychic powers, when all of a sudden, a massive tremor shook the surrounding area, and the villa was rocked by a series of explosions.

"What the hell was that?" Nick exclaimed.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Sam's P.O.V.)

"Let's check it out, guys," I ordered.

The four of us jumped out of the pool, grabbed our towels and dashed inside to check it out while we dried ourselves. If my guess was right, Mathew, Clover and Alex were probably still inside sleeping.

"What the heck was that?" Alex asked.

It seemed like at least _Alex_ had woke up, but I still didn't know if it was either Clover or Mathew (which I highly doubted) that was causing those explosions.

"Clover!!" Alex and I screamed.

"What?" Clover said, irritated.

"What were those explosions?" I asked.

"Sam, what are you talking about?" Clover said, puzzled.

"You didn't cause those explosions?" Alex said.

"Explosions? (scoff) Never, in my life, have I _ever_ caused one actual explosion!" Clover announced.

(switch to my P.O.V.)

"What's going on out here?" I said as I came out of the bathroom.

"Mathew, did you hear any explosions?" Sam asked me.

"I did, but I thought it was an earthquake that was at LEAST a 10.3 magnitude," I answered.

"It's not an earthquake!!" we all heard someone say.

The only ones amongst us who seemed to know this criminal were Nick and Nozomi.

"Grendor!!" Nick seethed. "I should have known!!"

"Awww!!" Clover groaned.

"Not another villain!!"

"That's gonna be 4 times in the last 32 hours!!" Haruka said.

"By the way," I spoke up.

"Who's this 'Grendor' dude you just said about 40 seconds ago?"

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"He's a bad guy from a few years ago that we busted," Nozomi explained.

"He'd been trying to rob a store with some weird technology," Nick continued. "Nozomi and I were shopping for school supplies there when it happened..."

(begin flashback)

_Nick and Nozomi were darting about the Kyoto School Shop, looking for supplies they would need for the upcoming school year._

"_You know, Kellysi-chan, this wouldn't be so bad if the new freshman didn't need at least seven notebooks!" Nozomi complained, only to have Nick reply rather quickly._

"_It's just a thing they do at Momonoki High, Nozomi-chan. They like to pile all kinds of supplies on you for the new year. I still don't know why they do it..." Nick replied, picking out a green notebook..._

_...when suddenly, the two of them could hear the door smashing, glass falling everywhere as someone rather forcibly entered the store. Almost instantly, Nick and Nozomi took cover behind the school supply shelves, watching as a mysterious cloaked figure holding the biggest and most elaborate-looking guns they'd ever seen walked up to the check-out stand, holding said guns menacingly towards the store manager._

"_I will tell you this once, and ONLY once," the mystery man said in a gruff voice. "Give me all the money you have, or I will wipe your puny, pathetic store off the face of the earth."_

_Shaking like crazy, the store manager quickly began taking money from the register and handing it to the mystery man, who was grinning like mad._

"_I can't believe this," Nozomi whispered in as low a voice as she could, lest they be discovered. "Just who does this guy think he is?"_

"_I'd like to know where he got those huge guns," Nick replied. "I just remembered that the police station's only about three or four blocks away from here. If we can hold off that guy for long enough, we may be able to get the police over here and they can take care of the rest."_

"_But, Nick, don't you see those giant guns? They could take us out in an instant!" Nozomi shot back._

"_That's why we've been training in karate. We just have to keep him in the store long enough for the police to get here," Nick explained. "Don't worry, Nozomi-chan. I'm not going to let him hurt you."_

"_Thanks, Kellysi-chan. Let's do this," Nozomi replied before getting to her feet and heading out into the main store._

"_Stop right there!" Nick and Nozomi shouted, drawing the mystery figure's attention away from the manager._

"_Fools. Do you really think you can stop the likes of me?" the figure noted, holding his massive guns towards the couple._

"_You! Call the police right now! We'll hold this freak off!" Nick shouted to the manager, who stumbled towards the nearby phone, dialing the police._

"_Anyone who interferes with the plans of Grendor the Great will not live to tell about it!" Grendor exclaimed with a mad laugh, firing his massive guns. Nick and Nozomi were just barely able to dodge._

_Nick was the first to decide to take the offensive, charging forward once the initial shots had been fired. The nimble boy leapt into the air, using one of Grendor's guns to propel himself upward. Once he'd found his chance, and before Grendor could raise his other gun, Nick's well-exercised foot thundered forward with the speed and force of a runaway freight train. Nick's foot easily slammed into the side of Grendor's head, bending it at an unearthly angle and knocking the would-be thief straight to the ground._

_Grendor was up in an instant, but before he could pick up his weapons, he was met with a flying kick to the back, courtesy of Nozomi._

_Nick rushed forward as Grendor picked himself up again. Nozomi seemed to follow and mimic Nick's every movement, as if they'd become synchronized._

_The couple started out the attack by driving their fists into Grendor's stomach, dazing him pretty badly. The two followed it up with a few spinning kicks, and finished the attack by leaping into the air and delivering two powerful kicks to Grendor's head, who fell down instantly._

_Soon enough, Nick and Nozomi could easily hear the blaring sirens of the police squad converging around the entrance to the store._

"_This is the K.P.D.! Come out with your hands up!" one of the police officers shouted over a bullhorn._

"_Damn it!" Grendor shouted. "The police!"_

"_You may as well give up, buddy. It's all over," Nick stated._

"_Never! You will never take me alive, you damned coppers!" Grendor shouted, picking up his guns and aiming them for the police outside..._

_...when he felt it. One backhand to the neck, courtesy of Nick, and Grendor fell to the ground, out like a light. This made it that much easier for the cops to take him in._

(end flashback)

"Was he really going to trash that store?" Alex asked.

"He meant every word he said," Nozomi replied.

"See, his problem was, he had a bit of a superiority complex," Nick explained. "Whenever he wielded those guns of his, he thought that he was unstoppable. Serves him right for thinking he's invincible."

"YOU SHUT UP!" Grendor shouted from above, utilizing the mysterious glow his hands were shrouded in and tossing numerous energy bolts for the spy gang.

Nick, however, was on the move, easily countering the move with a flurry of psychic energy blasts of his own. The flurry of beams collided in the middle of the sky, wiping each other out.

This wasn't lost on Grendor, who immediately began forming a massive energy ball with his bare hands. When he threw it towards the villa in hopes of destroying it, Nick countered by unleashing a Final Shine Attack. The massive beam of fluorescent green energy easily pierced through the purple ball, rather quickly dissipating it.

"Damn kids. I guess I have no choice," Grendor said to himself before speaking into a communicator wristwatch. "Scam! Proceed with the final plan!"

"What? Final plan?" Alex wondered.

"We will meet again very soon, you insipid fools," Grendor sneered before disappearing in a purple flash.

"Hey! Get back here, coward!" Nick shouted, but no sooner had he said that than everyone's X-Powders rang with a blaring emergency signal. Fearing the worst, Nick was the first to flip it open and answer the call.

"Jerry! What's going on over there?" Nick exclaimed. Nick could only see pure chaos at WOOHP behind Jerry's transmission.

"Spies! Get over here right now! A massive army of villains is attacking WOOHP headquarters!" Jerry exclaimed before the transmission was rather badly cut.

"They're attacking WOOHP?" Sam and Clover exclaimed.

"That must have been what the 'final plan' meant," Nick replied. "Spies, mobilize! We have to get to WOOHP, and we have to get there RIGHT NOW!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

All right! Things are about to get very intense next chapter! We're in the home stretch!

Chapter 15: Starbound Sacrifice

A massive army of baddies is attacking WOOHP HQ, and it's going to be a massive battle! But when the leader of the army unleashes a super-powerful weapon, is one of the spies ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to save their friends from destruction?

Ja ne,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	15. Starbound Sacrifice

(Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. We hope you'll like this next chapter. Nick's right, the two of us are in the home stretch of the story!! For now, enjoy.)

Chapter 15: Starbound Sacrifice

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

Responding to Jerry's distress call, we arrived at W.O.O.H.P. in a short period of time.

"Geez, I can't believe that we've got to stop a fourth villain in 2 days!" Clover said.

"He may probably care less about you guys," Nick said to us.

"Why is that?" Alex asked.

"He may be after _the two of us_ for revenge," Nozomi answered.

"Well, we should help you two," Sam proudly said.

"Sam's right," Haruka agreed.

"We're a team, so we'll help you guys," I added.

When we entered W.O.O.H.P., there were baddies left and right, and up and down, and things were in total chaos.

"Okay, where do we start?" I asked.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"We start by finding Jerry. Maybe he knows how all these baddies got out!" Nick exclaimed, waving his hand in a 'mobilize' motion. With that, the spies spread out in all directions in hopes of quelling the ensuing chaos.

(Nick's P.O.V.)

What I'd like to know is how Grendor was able to free all of these baddies.

Lady Luna, Dr. Gelee, Macker the Safecracker, Professor Zero, the list goes on and on! There were literally thousands of baddies storming the corridors of WOOHP!

This had to stop. I wouldn't stand for this!

My mind made up, I charged with a steel-willed resolve into the swarm of baddies, using my psychic powers to clear out packs and packs of baddies. I swear to god, I've never seen this many villains in my life!

Suddenly, I heard a loud crash right behind me. Reacting quickly, I spun around, facing a mechanical laser arm and quickly dispatching it with a Final Shine Attack. I could see Professor Zero operating a ton of those mechanical arms from afar, and each one was closing in on me quite fast. It definitely didn't help that a rather massive group of baddies was closing in on me, not giving me any room to avoid or even move!

_Time to put an end to that,_ I thought, concentrating my psychic powers into myself. Before the laser arms could fire, I threw my arms out, and a massive psychic disrupter wave flew from myself, creating a sphere of psychic power that cleared a rather large area from myself out to at least a hundred yards. The disrupter field cleared out enough of a space for me to take flight and shoot into the sky, hoping to take out some baddies from up here.

However, I was quickly met with a shot to the back from a laser gun, held by none other than Max Exterminus. Stupid bug-happy freak... I didn't feel any pain thanks in part to the cover of psychic power that was sustaining my flight.

Taking my chance, I fired another Final Shine Attack into the crowd, dispersing it at random as the baddies down on ground level scrambled to avoid getting skewered by my relentless attacks.

"I sincerely hope the others are doing better..." I said to myself as I fired yet another Final Shine Attack into a crowd of mechanical arms.

(Nozomi's P.O.V.)

I can't understand how Jerry could stay calm in a situation like this! WOOHP's getting destroyed from the inside out, and he STILL acts like a calm business professional!

A few feeble punches from random baddies jolted me from my thoughts as I gracefully dodged above and around the many villains. Taking action, I leapt into the air, my well-exercised thigh lashing out and taking at least seven villains down with it.

I saw Alex having a bit of trouble with a group of baddies being led by Sebastian, that metal-handed freak from the Ricky Mathis concerts, and decided it was time for me to cut in. I rushed for Alex, plowing through baddies on my way, and finished the job with a Skyhammer kick that knocked Lady Luna straight to the wrecked floor.

"Alex, you up for a tag-team?" I asked Alex, who quickly shifted into fighting stance.

"I'd be delighted," Alex replied, standing close to me so that our backs touched. As the villains continued to swarm us, Alex took my hand. Responding quickly, I leapt into the air and used my foot to propel myself off of Willard (that REAL slow guy, from what I remember that Nick told me). Once I was in the air, Alex began using my terminal velocity to spin me around, my flying feet knocking out any baddie that was foolish enough to get close to the whirling tornado that was me and Alex.

However, as soon as we landed on our feet, we were instantly swarmed by a new group of baddies. I sighed derisively. This... was not going to work.

(Back to Nick's P.O.V.)

I _finally_ reached Jerry's office after plowing through immeasurable amounts of villains. How many were there in WOOHP? Jerry is SO going to be in trouble for this.

Before any of the villains could stop me, I forced the door to the main office open and shut it quickly using my psychic powers.

"Jerry, what's going on? Do you know how all of these baddies escaped? And furthermore, _why are they all attacking WOOHP?_" I shouted, hoping to wring some answers out of the veteran agent.

Before Jerry could say anything, I watched as a few more doors were forced open, and the rest of the spies came through in teams: Sam and Mathew on one team, Clover, Haruka, and Bridget on another team, and Alex and Nozomi on the last team.

"Man, what is up with all these bad guys?" Mathew asked, forcing the door closed.

"It's like somebody's ordering them all to attack WOOHP at once!" Nozomi mentioned.

"And I'm getting this sickening feeling it's about to get worse," I said to myself.

"Oh, how right you are, spies," Grendor's leering voice sounded amid all the chaos. All eight of us immediately shifted into fighting stance, but were quickly interrupted by Grendor's piercing laugh.

"You can fight all you want, spy kids, but it is futile. You will all be destroyed in a few minutes," Grendor stated in his leering voice, which was _really _beginning to annoy me, before talking into a walkie-talkie he conveniently had on him. "Terrence, fire the Eclipse Cannon!"

"Eclipse Cannon?" Nozomi asked in confusion.

"WAIT! I thought we'd destroyed that thing!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, drat!" Haruka exclaimed. "We were so busy saving Beverly Hills that time, I think we forgot to destroy the Eclipse Cannon!"

(Author's Note: The Eclipse Cannon was introduced all the way back in chapter 5 and 6, for those just joining us.)

"I'm leaving. I will treasure seeing the destruction of WOOHP... and seeing the likes of you vaporized and scattered to the winds," Grendor explained before disappearing. Suddenly, we all heard a rumbling sound that only grew worse with every passing second.

I was the first one to notice the gigantic mass of pink energy that was destroying the very foundation of WOOHP quickly and without mercy. It was coming so fast I barely had time to react.

"What the...?" Sam exclaimed.

"Damn it!" I shouted, thrusting my hands forward and creating a powerful psychic barrier to hold back the blast from the Eclipse Cannon. I didn't think I could hold it for long, since I'd used a good deal of my remaining psychic power to actually _put up_ this barrier. I didn't think I'd be able to save myself, but with the power I had left, I could still save my friends...

"Girls! Mat! You have to get out of here! RIGHT NOW!" I shouted, straining to keep my hold on the psychic barrier.

"WHAT? No chance!" Mathew responded.

"We're not leaving you to die!" Alex shouted.

"You don't understand! I can't hold on to this thing for much longer! If we all die, then this world dies! Don't you understand that?" I shot back, trying my best to keep the Eclipse Cannon's blast at bay until I could get my friends to a safe distance.

"Please, Nick... I don't want to lose you..." Alex stated, tears forming in her eyes.

I didn't have time for this. I wish I could convince them that if they die with me, this world won't have any hope...

"I SAID GET OUT OF HERE! RIGHT NOW!!" I shouted, holding out my free hand towards Mat, Jerry, and the girls, encasing them in a psychic orb and teleporting them far away from WOOHP. I'm just glad I got them out of there.

As I expected, that last move used up what little psychic power I had left, and the barrier I was holding fell. As I was taken by the blast from the Eclipse Cannon, I knew that I wasn't afraid.

I knew that I had done the right thing...

(back to normal P.O.V.)

As the orb encasing Mathew, Jerry, and the girls disappeared a safe distance from WOOHP, they could only watch in complete horror as the spy organization they'd worked at for so long was torn to complete shreds by the Eclipse Cannon, Nick along with it.

"NICK!!!" everyone screamed, Alex loudest of all.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

The girls and I could only stare in shock, seeing as W.O.O.H.P. was now just bits and pieces. Alex ran to the heap to find Nick.

"Nick? Nick? NICK!!" Alex called out, looking for him.

The rest of us joined Alex in trying to help look for Nick. Sam found him in the back section of the whole heap. He was beaten up badly, but he was okay. Alex was overjoyed and hugged him tightly.

"Just my luck," Jerry said, depressed.

"I lose my organization, and my job, meaning that I may be forced to go back to the hotel business."

We all had a feeling for Jerry, who had ran the whole thing for 35 plus years. But then, something else struck me in the head.

"Guys, what about Bridget?" I said.

"_Oh no!!!_" All of us said.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Oh, no! Bridget! She was caught in that mess!" Haruka shouted, rushing towards the wreckage, hoping to find any sign of Bridget, or rather, ANY survivors after the Eclipse Cannon had purely and utterly wiped out seemingly everyone and everything that hadn't evacuated WOOHP before the blast hit.

With surprising strength, Haruka picked up random pieces of rubble and tossed them aside in a desperate search for their friend Bridget.

After about 15 minutes, Haruka sighed in defeat and turned back to the rest of the spies. "I'm sorry, guys and girls... but I think Bridget's gone."

The fact just hung in there for a little while. Alex even started to cry. Nozomi stood there, completely silent.

"Nick's not waking up... and now Bridget's gone..." Alex stated through strained sobs. "What do we do now?"

Brushing away a few tears of her own, Haruka turned back to the spies with an iron determination. "Simple. We go and find whoever fired that damn Eclipse Cannon, and we give him a sound beating... for Nick and Bridget," she explained. "It's what they'd want. Who's with me?"

"Do you have to ask, Haruka?" Alex quipped, picking herself up. "We're all in. No questions."

"That's right," Mathew responded. "We're in it until the end. We're not going to stand for these atrocities. We're going to take down whoever fired that cannon."

"I completely agree with my boyfriend, Haruka," Sam continued. "We're in, too. We're not going to rest until we take care of whoever fired that cannon. This is for Nick and Bridget!" Sam pumped her fist into the air, followed by five more.

"It just so happens, spies, that I had a spare Skyskimmer being transported to WOOHP before it was destroyed," Jerry noted, pointing to a launch pad that rested just a few blocks from the wreckage of what was once WOOHP. This very launch pad held the aforementioned Skyskimmer. "You can take that and go to the Eclipse Cannon's hideout and defeat those nutcases for good."

"Thanks, Jerry. I don't know what we'd do without you sometimes," Nozomi stated, already racing for the Skyskimmer.

"I can still pick up an energy trail from when the Eclipse Cannon was fired. My X-Powder's going nuts just trying to decode this thing," Haruka stated, her X-Powder open and scanning the energy trail from the Eclipse Cannon. "Got it! They're still in South America! The very place this whole mess started!"

"I'll take Nick to the closest hospital I can find," Jerry stated, picking up Nick's battered and unconscious body. "Good luck out there, spies!"

"All right then, spies, let's go!" Sam shouted, assuming her 'leader' voice and leading the others towards the Skyskimmer. They all knew they may not survive, but they didn't care. They were going to win for Nick and Bridget.

The final battle was at hand...

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Okay! I know it seems short, but I always like to do short chapters before the grand finale to build up anticipation for the climactic final battle to come! Here's the preview for the long-awaited final chapter of _Beyond the Looking Glass_:

Final Chapter: Fantastic Finale

It's the final battle! The spies vs. Terrence Lewis, for the fate of everything they know and love! But, are they outclassed by the villain du jour? Or will a surprise appearance save them from certain doom?

Ja ne,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


	16. Fantastic Finale

(Okay, here's what you've all been waiting so long for: the final battle! The spies versus Terrence! Can they do it? Even I don't know yet! Let's find out and get right into the final chapter of _Beyond the Looking Glass_!)

Final Chapter: Fantastic Finale

(On a sidenote: a part of this last battle may have been inspired by me playing too much _Sonic the Hedgehog_...)

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

It was a tense few hours as the Skyskimmer shot over the skies of the world on its preset course to South America, where the spies' final battle lay in wait. Terrence, Jerry's evil brother, was waiting with the Eclipse Cannon, and he would stop at nothing to eliminate more of the spies.

Sam, Mathew, Clover, and Nozomi were in the main seats, piloting the plane and messing with various controls. Alex and Haruka were seated on the benches in the back of the plane, letting their minds wander to the friends they'd lost in the ensuing struggle that had completely vaporized WOOHP.

Alex suddenly looked up at Haruka, a glint of sorrow in her brown eyes. She stood up, walked over to the brunette, and took a seat next to her.

"You're thinking about Nick, aren't you?" Alex asked Haruka.

"...yeah," Haruka replied. "I'm so worried about him. He hasn't moved an inch since he took that blast from the Eclipse Cannon. I know he's not dead, but he's sure acting like it. I don't know if he's ever going to get out of the coma he's in..." Haruka explained, starting to cry.

"Hey, hey," Alex stated, pulling Haruka into her embrace. "It's okay, Haruka. It's okay..."

"I just don't know what to do anymore, Alex," Haruka cried into Alex's shoulder. "Two of my best friends are gone, and I just don't know what I can do..."

"That's why you've got us, Haruka," Alex explained, attempting to soothe the upset brunette. "We'll be there for you. We won't rest until we take down Terrence _and_ destroy the Eclipse Cannon. We're doing it for Nick and Bridget."

"It's... it's what they'd want..." Haruka replied, settling into Alex's embrace.

A few minutes later, the tranquil scene was broken by Nozomi's panicked shouts.

"You'd best save the waterworks for later, you two, because I think Terrence knows were here!" Nozomi shouted, taking the plane into a barrel roll to avoid getting blasted by the rapidly-firing Eclipse Cannon.

"Damn it!" Clover shouted. "Doesn't this guy know when to give up?"

Nozomi and Sam quickly acted: Sam steering the plane, and Nozomi firing the weapons systems to counter the blasts from the Eclipse Cannon. The group had quite a few close calls, but it seemed that Terrence was not going to give up until he'd blown the spies out of the sky.

All of a sudden, a rather large blast from the Eclipse Cannon tore through the Skyskimmer's left wing, sending the whole thing into a tailspin.

"Damn, I've lost control of this thing!" Nozomi shouted. "I don't think I can hold it up!"

"Let me try," Haruka stated, heading towards the control panel, letting Nozomi stand up. Slowly, but surely, Haruka navigated the crippled Skyskimmer towards the runway that surrounded the base. Oddly enough, the Eclipse Cannon had stopped firing. Apparently, Terrence thought he'd shot the spies down.

"The landing may be bumpy, spies. Hold on tight!" Haruka exclaimed as the crippled Skyskimmer landed rather roughly on the runway that led to Terrence's base.

Once the bumps stopped, everyone hopped out of the damaged plane and formed a group. "Come on, spies, let's finish this once and for all!" Haruka shouted, assuming unofficial leadership of the group and leading them towards their final battle.

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**Inside the base...**

Terrence was standing next to the controls of the Eclipse Cannon, grinning like an idiot. Apparently, he'd believed the spies to have been blown out of the sky by that last attack.

"That was easier than I thought. Macker was a fool to leave those psychic gems in the cannon, for now I have enough power to level whatever I want in this pitiful city," Terrence exclaimed, laughing maniacally. "I've already vaporized WOOHP and that annoying green-haired girl with it..."

Terrence's jovial mood was suddenly soured by a female voice that seemed very familiar.

"And I guess 'that green-haired girl' would be me?"

**At the entrance...**

Drawing her Wind Tunnel 9000 Tornadoblast Hairdryer and setting it to full power, Haruka aimed the hairdryer towards the entrance to the Eclipse Cannon hangar, and pressed the trigger. Haruka smiled as the powerful wind blew a large hole in the metal doorway.

"Come on, spies. We've got a bone to pick with Terrence!" Haruka exclaimed, only to be stopped by Nozomi's confused voice.

"I think someone's already beaten us to that point," Nozomi replied, pointing through the gaping metal hole towards Terrence, who was just barely dodging a whirlwind of attacks from a person that seemed oddly familiar...

"Who's beating the snot out of Terrence?" Nozomi asked.

"It's a girl!" Mathew noticed.

"_It's Bridget!!_" the spies shouted.

Indeed, it was Bridget who was lashing out at Jerry's evil brother, giving him no time to counter or even reach for something that could turn the tide in his favor.

"You! I thought you were vaporized along with that stupid spy organization!" Terrence shouted, just barely blocking a powerful uppercut.

"I wasn't even there when you destroyed WOOHP, Terrence," Bridget replied before shifting into a powerful spinning kick. "And before you even ask, I'd recovered from my little injury faster than Jerry ever expected. So now, I'm going to bring you down. That's pretty much all there is to it."

With that, Bridget leapt over Terrence, her left foot thundering out and smacking Terrence across the head, sending him flying clear into a series of control panels on the opposite side of the room.

Landing gracefully on the floor, Bridget was quickly pulled into a storm of hugs by the spies.

"Bridget! Oh, my gosh, we all thought you were gone!" Haruka shouted, unable to contain herself.

"Did you really think some sibling-rivalry-obsessed twin freak was going to keep me from the biggest battle of the year, did you?" was Bridget's simple reply.

"Well, spies, this 'biggest battle of the year' is about to come to an abrupt end!" Terrence shouted, picking himself up and fiddling with some of the controls he'd crashed into, but thankfully not broken. Suddenly, the Eclipse Cannon began glowing with immeasurable power, pointing its barrel directly towards the group. Terrence watched with glee as Haruka, in a vain attempt, fired her full power Wind Tunnel 9000 blast towards the massive cannon, but to no avail.

"You spies don't get it. Only your little boy-toy had the power to survive a dead-on blast from the Eclipse Cannon thanks to that psychic nonsense, and that means YOU couldn't possibly survive!" Terrence gloated, laughing like a maniac.

"I hate to say it, but I think he's right," Mathew responded.

Haruka started shivering in fear before screaming out a few choice words...

"_Nick! Where are you?"_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**Meanwhile, at the Beverly Hills Clinic...**

A few nurses were patiently watching over the bruised and battered body of Nick, who had been knocked into a coma after taking the full force of the Eclipse Cannon blast that had destroyed WOOHP, despite his best efforts to hold the blast back with his psychic powers. Jerry was there, too, and after a few scans, it seemed that Nick had lost a great deal of his psychic power, and that was what possibly could have knocked Nick into this state.

All of a sudden, Nick's barely conscious body registered Haruka's panicked words, causing him to shoot out of his bed, his eyes finally opening.

"Hey! You shouldn't be up so soon! You need more time to recover!" one of the nurses exclaimed.

"Haruka and the others... they need my help..." was all Nick said, rising out of his bed and being covered in a golden yellow cocoon of light that exploded into a gigantic flash, covering the entire hospital room.

When Jerry and the nurses were able to see again, they gasped in pure surprise - Nick was floating in mid-air, once again in his psychic super form. Only, he looked... different. His now-golden hair was standing straight up, fully spiked and everything, and electricity was crackling all around him. Even better, all the wounds he had sustained instantly vanished, so Nick looked good as new!

The nurses looked on in pure amazement, while Jerry acted like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Jerry, where are the others?" Nick asked with a low, deep voice.

"They're in South America," Jerry replied.

"Thanks. Now, if you don't mind, nurses, I've got a psychotic brother to take down," Nick stated, focusing on the location of his friends, and disappearing in a flash.

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_I guess Nick's still out of it. I just hope he was able to hear me..._

"This is the end for you, spies! I've waited for years to see your destruction!" Terrence's voice kept on declaring.

_Please, Nick. If you can hear me... PLEASE... we need your help..._

"Goodbye, infernal spies!"

"_FINAL SHINE ATTACK!!_"

All of a sudden, to Terrence's shock, and to the spies' surprise, a massive, fluorescent green beam of energy tore through the powering-up Eclipse Cannon, completely and utterly destroying it.

Terrence looked upwards... and saw Nick in his ascended super form, bearing a massive grin that seemed to frighten the hell out of Terrence.

"NICK!!" everyone shouted.

"Good as new. Did you miss me?" Nick replied.

Then, Nick turned towards Terrence, holding a mass of energy in both of his hands.

"Now, where were we?" Nick stated.

"Damn, I guess it's time for plan B," Terrence said to himself. "I never thought I'd have to resort to this..."

With that, Terrence pressed a button on a nearby console, and a nearby garage door opened, revealing a massive, golden robot with silver angel wings.

"Behold... the pinnacle of robotics!" Terrence proclaimed. "My ultimate creation, modeled after the GODS themselves - Solaris Mark II!"

"Solaris?" Alex asked. "Who or what is that?"

"Solaris - the sun god," Nick explained. "Back in the days of the ancient Egyptians, they believed that Solaris was the god of creation, and they worshipped him thusly. Terrence obviously thinks that modeling his creations after the gods will make it that powerful. Well, I'm sorry, Terrence, but your little Solaris thing isn't going to take care of me! I'm stronger than ever now!"

Suddenly, the seven Psy-Stones began floating around Solaris, powering it up substantially. "Oh, really? Here's what I think!"

That very second, Solaris shot an eerie purple beam forward that opened a mysterious portal. Nick seemed to be in a bit of surprise.

"So, you just ripped a hole in the fabric of time and space," Nick stated, causing the other spies to gasp in shock. "What's that going to do?"

"Simple. I'm going to alter history so that I rule in a world where you spies don't even exist!" Terrence exclaimed, piloting Solaris into the time-space tear, Nick quickly following. Haruka tried to follow as well, but was stopped by Alex and Bridget.

"Haruka... let Nick do this. He's the only one powerful enough to stop that thing," Bridget explained.

"Just trust Nick. He can do this..." Alex continued.

Haruka looked towards the gaping hole in time-space, and clenched her hands together in a prayer. _Nick... I know you can do it..._

**In the time-space disruption...**

Nick floated there, facing down Terrence in his Solaris robot. The two were currently hanging in what appeared to be Beverly Hills, but it was all glossed over with an eerie shade of purple and black, and the sun was red instead of gold.

"You are a fool, boy," Terrence gloated. "Even with your stupid psychic powers, there is no way you can beat me now. This realm gives Solaris all the power I'll need! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!"

"Yeah, yeah. Why don't you tell it to someone who cares?" Nick shot back, preparing for battle. Solaris was the first to act, its wings glowing a shade of red and firing two ruby energy beams straight for Nick, who easily dodged around and countered with a Final Shine Attack. The fluorescent energy beam slammed into Solaris, knocking it backwards a few feet.

"Lucky shot," Terrence proclaimed, manipulating a few controls and making Solaris charge for Nick.

Nick threw his hands out, producing a psychic barrier that held Solaris back. Terrence, however, started laughing.

"You don't get it, do you, boy?" Terrence shouted. "You couldn't hold back the Eclipse Cannon with that pathetic barrier. What chance do you have of holding ME back?"

"Simple, _Terry_," Nick explained. "Back then, my psychic powers weren't at their full strength. Now, I've gone above and _beyond_ full strength. You seem to be blissfully ignorant of that fact."

As if giving a demonstration of his new power, Nick's psychic barrier flashed a bright gold and pulsed, pushing Terrence back quite a bit. Moving quickly, Nick charged for Solaris, a bright aura surrounding him as he moved. Before Nick could react, however, Terrence flipped a switch, and Solaris' wings expunged immeasurable amounts of energy beams, all of them slamming into Nick. Terrence could only laugh...

...but his laugh was quickly cut short, when, to his horror, Nick came out of the assault with not a single scratch, his aura brighter than ever.

"B-b-b-bu-but..." Terrence stammered.

"So, is that basically all you can say?" Nick joked before charging for Solaris once again. In a panic, Terrence fired every single weapon that Solaris had towards Nick, hoping to end this with one last blow.

However, Terrence's mood was once again ruined when he saw Nick swing his left hand, easily deflecting each of the attacks that Terrence had set on him.

"I don't think _you_ get it, Terrence," Nick stated, still charging. "My psychic powers are stronger than they EVER were. I'm sorry to say it, but you don't stand a chance against me now."

In a desperate move, Terrence tried to use Solaris' wings to knock Nick out of the sky (wherever the sky WAS in this eerie setting), but Nick simply grabbed the wing and broke it off, repeating the process when Terrence tried to attack with the other wing.

"You're defenseless now, _Terry_," was all Nick said before holding his hands out towards the defenseless Solaris, charging up his psychic energies.

"NO! I cannot be defeated!" Terrence shouted.

"Well, guess what? You just were," Nick replied.

That very second, Nick discharged his collected power into a massive beam that, after a few seconds, completely vaporized Solaris and Terrence along with it.

Once the blast had cleared up, Nick focused, using his psychic power to open a portal that led back to the lab where the spies were waiting. Once Nick had stepped onto solid ground, the gaping time-space hole instantly closed.

"Nick! You did it!" Haruka shouted upon seeing Nick safe and sound.

"Sure did," Nick replied, releasing his psychic power and reverting to his normal form. "Solaris is finished. Terrence shouldn't bother us anymore."

"Thank god that's over," Sam noted. "I'm about to collapse as it is."

"Can we go home? PLEASE?" Haruka and Alex exclaimed at the same time.

"I thought you'd never ask," Nick replied, covering the group in a psychic orb. When the orb cleared, they'd disappeared.

(Written by **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

"Wait a minute, guys," I pointed out.

"What about W.O.O.H.P.?"

"I'll take care of it, and it'll be good as new," Nick said to us.

We all agreed and we were transported back home.

**Back at Home...**

We were sitting around doing nothing, waiting for Nick to return.

"Do you think that Grendor guy was after us as well?" I asked.

"No, I think that he was just after me and Nick," Nozomi answered.

"Aren't you guys spent from all that we've done in the last two days?" Clover asked us.

"Me? Not really," I answered.

"Well, I for one, didn't collapse, so I'm fine," Sam said.

"Clover, we're teens," Haruka said.

"We're _supposed_ to have a lot of energy."

"Well, some of us can get physically spent easily," Alex said.

"True," I agreed.

While we were still caught up in our conversation, Nick happened to walk inside.

"So?" Bridget asked Nick.

"Yep, I fixed up W.O.O.H.P. and Jerry couldn't be happier," Nick answered.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"All the baddies that escaped have been locked up," Nick replied, but suddenly saw Nozomi's curious gaze. "That _includes_ Grendor."

"Oh, thank goodness," Nozomi stated, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I'm just glad everything's over," Alex replied. "What do you think happened to Terrence? He's not dead, is he?"

"I don't think so. But he _is_ trapped inside that time-space thingy, right?" Bridget asked.

"Yep," was Nick's simple reply. "He's not going to bother us anymore."

"Then, can we take a vacation from all this crime-fighting?" Bridget asked. "Because I am POOPED!"

"Sure. Jerry gave us a little time off as thanks for finally closing this mission," Nick replied. Suddenly, he gasped with surprise. "Oh, geez, _vacation?_ I almost forgot to call May!" And with that, he rushed upstairs.

"Who?" was all Alex could ask before Nick disappeared into his room.

"May Iwakura," Bridget answered. "Another childhood friend. Nick told me that a few days ago, before all this madness, he got an email from May saying that she'd returned from her world travels and she wanted to see Nick again."

"He seems to have a lot of childhood friends who want to see him again," Sam wondered, taking a quick glance at Bridget and Nozomi.

"Nick's a cool guy that way," Nozomi responded.

"I'm just glad this mess is finally over..." Alex noted, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Aren't we all?" Mathew replied.

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(Note from **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Finally, _Beyond the Looking Glass_ is complete! Mat and I have one more joint story coming up, and to tide you over until we're ready, here's a preview for it! (Title coming soon.)

"Take THIS!" May shouted, her long, auburn hair fluttering in the breeze as she delivered a powerful spin kick to the next baddie in line.

Not wasting any more time, Alex whipped out her Wind Tunnel 9000 and fired it at full power, knocking down a few more baddies. Haruka jumped onto Alex's shoulders, using the terminal velocity to propel her forward, tackling another group of baddies to the ground.

"Man, they just won't stop coming!" Mathew shouted, knocking another few baddies away.

"Where's Nick?" Bridget and Nozomi exclaimed.

Nick, meanwhile, was having some trouble of his own, being tied up with a special rope that repressed his psychic powers.

"Oh, man, when I find whoever captured me, I am going to kick his..." Nick started, but was interrupted when someone walked in.

"Let me guess, you're the one who kidnapped me?" Nick shot sarcastically.

"Got it," the mystery figure said, moving in a little closer. Suddenly, Nick gasped.

"Wait. You're..." Nick shouted.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When the new story comes by, look on MY author page, okay? Until then, take care!

Thanks for reading,

Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger


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